Yayap's Story
by ZakoBattledroid
Summary: Yayap escapes the destruction of Installation 04 only to be faced with the war against the humans, the Sentinels, the Flood, and a Covenant civil war.
1. Escape

**Yayap's Story**

**Chapter 1: Escape **

At the edge of the foothills, Yayap dismounted from his Ghost. Intrigued by a series of noises, the Special Operations Grunt turned back to look at the _Pillar of Autumn_. Yayap witnessed a trail of explosions rip along the length of the ship's battered hull. The symphony of destruction that was laid out before him was rather beautiful.

Yayap felt a peace, felt as if he were floating in the air, then quickly realized that he was floating in the air, upward. Yayap looked up, to see that a DX-class Dropship, otherwise known as a Spirit, had caught him in its gravity lift beam and was reeling him in.

The very second Yayap was aboard the DX Dropship accelerated away from the _Pillar of __Autumn_ at full speed. Trying to keep his balance, Yayap leaned against the interior wall of the dropship as it rumbled and rocked. Yayap heard the squeaking of other Grunts aboard the ship.

"I regret everything!"

"We're not gonna make it!"

"Waaahaha ha!"

The Spirit barely escaped the explosion and destruction of Installation 04. The ship steadied and Yayap could now get his bearings.

Yayap could have sworn he recognized one of the voices that echoed through the transport. A memory that had been buried under all the stress he had been going through lately. He remembered the owner of that voice.

"Gagaw!"

"Yes?" a Grunt Major answered. The red armored Grunt stared at the black armored Grunt for three full heartbeats. "Yayap! I thought you were dead!"

"I thought the same of you," Yayap admitted.

"Nah, I'm invincible now."

"What?"

"Zakap saved me. He says I'm part of his squad now."

"Zakap….why does that name sound familiar? Wait, what happened to the rest of our old squad?"

"Dead, except for us."

Yayap felt his heart sink. Death was an all-too-real reality for Grunts, but he was fond of his former unit. He looked around, realizing that a Grunt in jet-black armor was piloting the Spirit while a green armored Grunt Heavy was dutifully manning the controls to the ship's lone plasma cannon, even though there was nothing to shoot.

"Who dat?" Yayap pointed at the pilot.

"Zakap, the one who save me and the others."

"Zakap…" Yayap finally remembered why that particular name gnawed at the back of his Grunty mind. "The demon killer?"

"Yep, dat me," the Special Ops Grunt driving the Spirit replied.

"What you doing here?"

"Trying to stay alive."

"You can fly this thing?" Yayap was acutely aware that it was uncommon to find Grunts operating aircraft.

"Not too hard to learn. Phantoms are easy too. Human aircraft you gotta be careful with, ugly and unreliable."

"I wondered why the transport risked the time to save me."

"Yeah, no Unggoy gets left behind. We all Unggoy here, except for Deadside, so no complaining to stop and save you."

Yayap had noticed that the only inhabitants of the dropship were Grunts, except for a large figure stirring in one of the troop racks. Yayap peered at it to find it was a black armored Special Ops Hunter. The massive Hunter was armed with a heavy metal shield and a needler cannon. The fuel rod tubes that would usually stick out of the cannon arm were replaced with purple needles.

"That's Deadside, my adoptive bond brother," Zakap explained.

An Ultra Grunt in pearl-white armor turned to Yayap. "So, Yayap, Gagaw told us about you. He says that you're smart."

"Smart enough to stay alive I guess," Yayap said, unsure about what the other Grunt was getting at.

"I'm Curlap, technically I'm the leader of this squad," the Grunt Ultra explained. "It would be nice to talk to someone with intelligence for a change, and maybe you can stay with us and help me boss these idiots around."

"Hey! I'm intelligent!" Zakap protested.

"The ability to kill does not make you intelligent," Curlap retorted.

"I drive vehicles too…"

"And get us in lots of trouble, that I have to deal with!" Curlap scolded.

"It ain't so bad, we alive right?"

"It is bad."

"It could be worse."

"And somehow with you Zakap, it always gets worse."

"Give me a break, you act like this is all my fault. That I go to sleep each night wondering how I can make our lives miserable for the day to come!"

Curlap turned back to Yayap. "A Special Ops Unggoy is a prize to be had. You want to stay with us; we can make that happen. Others will back off if Zakap says he wants you on the squad."

"That would be fine, but don't you think you're thinking too far ahead? No one might not even save us and we'll be stranded out here forever."

"Yes he is a smart one!" Curlap exclaimed. "You're right, we might all die here. But we must act like we're going to live, or we will die. That's what I've learned hanging around that crazy Zakap and his bond brother."

Yayap didn't like the sound of that. He was far away from his former sleepy post he had before the whole business with the Sacred Ring started.

A Covenant cruiser picked up the Spirit's signal.

"Incoming vessel, identify yourselves," an Elite's voice came in.

"This is _Energy Hammer_, carrying survivors from the Sacred Ring," Curlap answered.

"Has the Parasite infected your vessel?"

"No, we're all clean here," Curlap wanted to give a sarcastic reply to such a dumb question but didn't want to be left hanging out in space if the Elite on the other end took offense at his humor.

"You are to dock in bay four, prepare for decontamination, inspection and processing."

"Understood."

"What fun," Yayap sarcastically said once the comm channel was turned off.

Mehmep, the Heavy Grunt gunner spoke up. "Stupid Elite. What, they think the Parasite learned to speak somehow?"

"Inspecting transports isn't so bad, it save my life back on the Ring," Yayap said.

"Oh?" Mehmep was genuinely curious.

"We can heard your war stories once we get off the transport," Curlap said. "Everyone get ready for inspection!" The order elicited groans from the Grunts.

The Spirit docked in bay four as ordered. Yayap and the others got off the ship to be met with a security team of Minor Grunts and Jackals.

The blue armored Minor Elite leader spoke up. "Huragok Team One, check the crew. Huragok Team Two, check the ship."

Engineers began to swarm around the group of survivors. Their tentacles slithered across the Grunts, searching for any sign of the Flood.

"Gross," Gagaw complained.

"Look, I'm Zakap and this is my crew. Can we take a break in the methane suite please? We are all very tired."

The Elite's four-mandible mouth hung open, he immediately knew who the Grunt was. He also knew the Grunt was telling the truth, no Unggoy would dare impersonate Zakap, for fear of assassination attempts and there was a Special Ops Hunter in the group. Everyone was well aware that Zakap was the adopted bond brother of Deadside.

"Yes you may go," the Minor Elite replied. "You, show them the way to the nearest methane suite," the Elite ordered a nearby Minor Grunt.

"Yes boss," the orange armored Grunt responded. A few of the Jackals gave the famous Grunt evil stares as they left.

"Yayap, you up in front with me," Zakap said authoritatively.

The Minor Grunt guide walked far ahead of the rest of the group. The two Special Ops Grunts walked side by side with Deadside behind them and the other Grunts bringing up the rear.

"You new. Have to learn to walk in front of Deadside without fear of getting stepped on. Just keep pace with me," Zakap instructed. "It easy when you get used to it."

"I'm sure," Yayap said uncertainly. He could easily hear the clanging footfalls of the large Hunter echo throughout the hallway.

"Ha Ha! We no have to go through inspection and processing!" Mehmep exclaimed from the back of the convoy, happy to get away from the hanger bay with just decontamination.

Other Covenant troops gave the group a wide berth. Word had traveled fast of Zakap's arrival, some had deliberately gone to see the Grunt. Some curious, some vengeful. A group of Jackals hissed at the group as they passed.

"They afraid of Deadside. Stupid fools, should be afraid of me as well," Zakap purposefully pounded on his chest plate with his fist as the group of Jackals continued hissing at them.

"Here it is," the Grunt motioned to the door of the methane suite. The Grunty crew went inside while Deadside stood guard at the door. Inside the methane-filled room, the Unggoy docked into triangular depressions on one of the walls. Compressors started to refill the tanks as the Grunt ejected themselves from their harnesses.

They removed their masks and hung them on a rack. The Grunts circled around the room's food dispenser and uncoiled the food nipples and shoved them into their mouths.

"I hate this stuff. It tastes like Sangheili shit," Zakap complained as he inhaled the nutritious, but foul-tasting sludge.

"You've tasted Sangheili shit before?" Curlap replied.

"No, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were feeding us Sangheili shit."

"Gagaw, when did you get promoted?" Yayap asked.

"Right after you were transferred out, I was the replacement squad leader. My squad got killed by the Parasite, but Zakap and Deadside managed to save me."

"Zakap and Deadside saved me on the human world Reach just before the Sacred Ring," Mehmep added.

"How did you kill a demon?" Yayap asked Zakap.

"It was fighting Deadside and his Mgalekgolo bond brother when I stumbled upon them. I turned on my active camouflage and the demon not notice me. It killed Deadside's bond brother and was about to finish him off as well when I shot it with my overcharged plasma pistol, and unloaded a full needler clip into it. What a mess that explosion made. Demon bits everywhere," Zakap waved his hands around for emphasis.

"Deadside is a peculiar Mgalekgolo name," Yayap said.

"He abandoned his old name and took that one when he adopted me as his new bond brother cause I saved him. Has no bond or line name anymore, just one personal name, like us Unggoy."

"Tell him the rest of the story Zakap," Curlap said.

"I get death threats and assassination attempts all the time, especially from Kig-yar, Jiralhanae and Sangheili."

"It true, I saw a Kig-yar try to kill him on the Sacred Ring!" Gagaw added.

"Yes, a big pain in the ass. Duels and death and messes I have to explain to the superiors," Curlap whined.

"Bah, they never do anything about it," Zakap cut in.

"Yeah, cause they want you dead too! All the suicide missions we get assigned too, it gets really tiring after a while."

The Unggoy Minor that had guided the group to the methane suite came back in. "You gotta come back out, the bosses want to talk to you guys."

The Grunts groaned as they abandoned the food dispenser and put their masks and suits back on. "Appearance over speed, better to for them to wait and have us look presentable," Zakap said, his real motive was to make the Elites wait a little bit.

After the group came out they were met with three Elites.

"We must take proper roll call of your squad. The Prophet of Regret demands you report to his carrier!"

Yayap sighed on the inside. Now he was being transferred to one of the Hierarchs ships? He never seemed to have any peace.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This story begins at Yayap's last scene in the novel _Halo: The Flood_. Yayap makes it some distance away from the _Pillar of Autumn_ and turns to see a series of explosions across the hull of the ship. The story implies that Yayap dies though never specifically states it. In a cut scene in Halo Wars it shows that Spirit craft are equipped with gravity beams. Having Yayap caught in the gravity beam of a passing Spirit was the most believable way I could think to save him from his doom.

Gagaw also appeared in _Halo: The Flood_ and did not die.


	2. The Grunt who Pwned all the Newbs

**Chapter 2: The Grunt who Pwned all the Newbs **

"All right line up!" the Elite Major Mntis 'Kotoree barked at his new squad. The red armored Sangheili was not happy with the lance he had been assigned, the squad of Zakap and Deadside. Elites in positions of command over them tended to end up dead. The Sangheili guessed the maniacal Unggoy used the cover of battle to assassinate officers he disliked. Mntis 'Kotoree had no plans to take the Great Journey any sooner than necessary.

The Grunts and Hunter lined up as ordered. Yayap was miserable. He and the others had just been transferred to Regret's carrier and already they were attacking the humans. "Will this ever end?"

Gagaw was less stressed about their situation. "It's not so bad, it'll be just like when we boarded the human ship above the Sacred Ring."

"Last time we weren't bringing along an exploding bomb," Yayap reminded his friend.

"Bomb is for humans, not us," Gagaw responded. Yayap had noticed his friend had gained a lot of confidence since they were reunited. Yayap guessed it was Zakap's presence that was inspiring Gagaw. Yayap shook his head; he was more inspired to let Deadside do most of the fighting.

'Kotoree's troops orderly filed into the boarding ship, as other squads did in nearby boarding craft.

"We're ready lets go," 'Kotoree told the pilot, a blue armored Elite Minor. The Covenant boarding ship left the hanger and flew threw the chaos of the space battle over the planet Earth. Covenant Seraph starfighters and UNSC Longsword interceptors chased each other around the vacuum of space. A damaged Seraph barreled out of control and almost collided with Yayap's transport ship.

Yayap's transport and others like it were an afterthought for the Longsword pilots that were busy keeping the Seraphs at bay. The Covenant boarding craft safely latched onto an enemy orbital defense platform, burning a hole for the entry point. The boarding tube penetrated the space station's outer hull.

Zakap was the first one out, followed by Yayap. Both Grunts had their weapons at the ready, but found no humans to shoot. The hallway they had entered in was vacant. The other Unggoy came out behind them. "Where the bad guys at?" Gagaw asked.

Mehmep swatted at a nearby door, but it wouldn't budge. "Doors locked," the green armored Grunt declared.

Mntis 'Kotoree motioned for a team of Yanme'e to open the door.

A pair of Drones began to cut through the sealed doors. The third Drone planted a charge and blew the doors open. The first three Minor Grunts that trotted through the opening and were immediately cut down in a hail of bullets.

Their bloody sacrifice bought Zakap and Yayap the time to take aim and fire back at the human defenders. Zakap took cover behind a computer on the left and Yayap dove behind a workstation on the right. With the Grunts out of the way 'Kotoree unleashed a fury of blue plasma bolts from his rifle.

"Standard formation, little bastards up front big ones in back." Yayap heard one of the humans say, to whom he didn't know. Warning sirens echoed throughout the human space station.

'Kotoree's energy shield protected him from the Marines' flurry of bullets.

Deadside squeezed through the small door and fired his needler cannon at the humans. Almost all of the human firepower was then turned against the Special Ops Hunter. The diversion gave the Grunts time to lob some plasma grenades the humans' way.

The blue detonations shook the floor. Yayap looked up from out of his cover to notice that Curlap and Zakap were boldly chasing the humans out of the room. The humans retreated and shut the door behind them.

"Hey bugs, get this door open," Curlap ordered the three Drones.

The winged aliens swarmed around the door again, but were shot to death. A small group of humans had appeared from a separate door on the side.

Gagaw tossed a plasma grenade their way, which they all dove out of the way to avoid. However, the marines' mad grenade dodging skills didn't help them getting blown apart by Deadside's needler cannon.

"What fun!" Zakap exclaimed as he shot a marine that Deadside had missed.

"Great, we live to fight some more," Curlap groaned.

"Me alive, me happy," a Minor Grunt named Nomnom declared.

Yayap looked around the room. Three dead Grunts, three dead Drones, and eight dead humans littered the area as far as he could tell. Six allies for eight enemies was not a bad score by Grunt standards.

The other door that the now-dead marines had come through shut itself. "Great, locked doors and no buggers to open them," Curlap whined when he tried to open the doors himself.

"Isn't he a door opener?" Yayap pointed to Deadside.

"He's not the door opener type. He prefers to create them," Zakap responded with an attempt at humor.

"Then have him make one and go on ahead. I'm going to stay back and ensure the antimatter charge is properly delivered," Mntis 'Kotoree said.

"Fine. Try to keep up," Zakap told the Elite.

"We will stay away from any altercation, we can't risk the charge getting hit by stray fire," the Elite explained.

"Yeah yeah," Zakap acknowledged in a dismissive tone. 'Kotoree was not pleased with the disrespectful attitude of the Grunt, but didn't feel like making an issue of it during a battle, especially if the Grunt was willing to kill the Sangheili over the subject. 'Kotoree was certain if he irritated the infamous Unggoy he would be blown up along with the human's space station.

"Okay, smash!" Curlap pointed at the door and Deadside crashed through it. Bullets began it ricochet off Deadside's armor the moment he made it through to the new area.

"Hunter! Hunter!" one of the human soldiers yelled.

The Unggoy came charging in after Deadside. This new area was much larger than the other parts of the ship the Covenant soldiers had explored. The Grunts began to fan out to different attack positions, motivated partly from rote military training, and partly from fear.

Zakap, of course, was mindlessly charging right into the humans, a bold strategy that seems to catch the humans by surprise. Zakap abandoned his plasma pistol, recovered a shotgun from a downed marine, and started blowing away humans at close range.

Mehmep set up a portable plasma cannon and started blasting the humans.

There were more human Navy personnel that the Covenant faced now. Not as well armed as marines and not accustomed to straight up firefights, the Grunts were rather effective against them.

From separate doors, other Covenant squads from different boarding craft began to converge on the battle area. The humans were heavily outnumbered.

Once Zakap ran out of shotgun shells he tossed the weapon at the humans. The crazed Grunt ran over and grabbed a pair of SMGs on the floor and started wildly firing at the enemy.

The floor started to quake. The Covenant troops were not sure what to make of the phenomena. "They didn't set off the charges did they?" Yayap asked Curlap. "They better not have." A Cyclops ripped an Elite in half, revealing the real culprit who caused the ground to shake. "Big bad guy!" Nomnom warned the others. "I hate those things!" Curlap said when he saw the exosuit. An unfortunate Grunt Minor was crushed by the powerful fists of the Cyclops.

Mehmep tried to turn the portable turret against the Cyclops but the exoskeleton suit was too fast. The Cyclops picked up Mehmep and held him in the air. The Grunt Heavy screamed for his life, afraid the large infantry unit would rip him in half like it did with the Elite. Yayap, Gagaw, and Zakap charged in, firing at the power suit in an attempt to make it drop their teammate. The Cyclops threw Mehmep into the trio of Grunts, knocking the whole cluster to the floor.

Trying to buy the others time to collect themselves, Deadside recklessly charged right into the Cyclops. The two large combatants crashed to the floor. The Cyclops managed to grab a hold of Deadside and knocked him aside. The exosuit got to its feet and moved to stomp on the Special Ops Hunter.

Deadside turned on his active camouflage. The Cyclops froze, unsure of where its opponent had gone. Nomnom tossed a plasma grenade and stuck the suit's leg. While the execution was good, all the poor Grunt did was catch the exosuit's attention. The Cyclops turned and barreled towards the helpless Nomnom, but tripped before it reached the Unggoy. Nomnom looked to see that the Cyclops had tripped over a stealth Elite that had his active camouflage powered on. The Grunt used the opportunity to flee from the Cyclops.

"Don't forget the about regular humans! Shoot them too!" Curlap tried to rally the Covenant forces against the reinvigorated UNSC infantry.

Zakap activated an energy cutlass and crawled onto the Cyclops as it got up again. The suit's operator was well aware that the feisty Grunt had crawled on and attempted to grab the Unggoy.

Zakap evaded the large hands and started stabbing at the cockpit. The Special Ops Grunt eventually cut a hole in the exosuit. Zakap stabbed the pilot in the head and leapt off the Cyclops as the pink weapon exploded in multiple shards.

"The antimatter charge's timer has been set, all units back to the boarding craft!" 'Kotoree transmitted to Curlap.

"All right boys, we are leaving!" Curlap shouted at the top of his lungs.

The Grunts scrambled in a mad dash to get back to the boarding ship. Bullets bouncing around them as some of the marines gave chase. The other Covenant squads likewise retreated to their assigned boarding ships.

Deadside's stealth system was deactivated after being pelted by so many bullets. The Hunter was behind Yayap's group, but was quickly gaining ground. At this point Yayap felt confident enough that the Hunter wasn't going to run them over.

* * *

"Malta what is your status, over?" Cortana, the A.I. aboard Cairo station, asked.

"I don't believe it! They're retreating, we've won!" Malta Station erupted into a violent detonation.

The Covenant boarding craft were just barely able to escape the explosion.

"Why's this always happen to me?"

"We're not gonna make it!"

"Waaahaha ha!"

The Grunts screamed and shouted as the boarding craft rocked and shifted, consumed by the waves of explosion. The ships got away, with only a few scorch marks for their trouble.

"We can't link up with the carrier again, it's already heading straight for the planet," the pilot informed Mntis 'Kotoree.

"Then that's where we're going," 'Kotoree said.


	3. Grunts say Run Away!

**Chapter 3: Grunts say "Run Away!"**

A UNSC C709 Longsword fired at the boarding ship once it breached the planet's atmosphere. Two Seraph fighters chased away the Longsword, saving the carrier ship from it's condemned fate.

Warning sirens blared. "We're too steep!" the pilot yelled. Black smoke started building up inside the spaceship. The mask-wearing Grunts were unaffected by the fumes though.

"This sucks!"

"This is getting old!"

"Waaahaha ha!"

The boarding craft crashed landed in the human city. For a moment, everything went black, and then everything was blurry, then black again, and after that Yayap regained his senses. He got to his feet and went over to help up Gagaw.

"Owww, it feels like I've been hit in the head with a gravity hammer," Zakap whined as he shoved Deadside's shield off of himself.

"Pilot's dead." Nomnom poked the corpse with his plasma pistol.

"Don't really need him now that we're on the ground," Curlap said. Despite Curlap's crass indifference to an Elite's death, 'Kotoree kept his mouth shut. The Elite Major was just happy he survived the crash and wasn't looking to annoy the Grunts.

The Covenant survivors slowly exited from the wreckage. Nomnom was quick to explore the alien surroundings. "Stay together!" Curlap ordered. "We need to regroup with other allied troops. We are going to be heavily outnumbered on this alien world."

It was not difficult to find friendly soldiers. Regret's cruiser hovered above the city and it was easy to make out where Covenant Phantoms were landing.

Mehmep spotted a nearby Phantom land and the group took off at a healthy trot to reach the transport's landing site. Large mobs of humans trampled over each other in an effort to flee from the small group of Grunts as they approached the landing Phantom. An Elite Minor leading a mixed squad of Jackals and Drones exited from the Phantom and started attacking the human civilians.

Gagaw and Nomnom were quick to join the Jackals and Drones in shooting the unarmed targets. It was every Grunt's dream, being assigned to kill civilians. Attacking non-combatants was far more fun and safer than being used as cannon fodder against the human's military forces.

"Cease fire! Cease fire! Save your ammo for their warriors!" Curlap tried to get Covenant troops to stop randomly firing on the fleeing civilians. "I said stop shooting you idiots!" Gagaw and Nomnom stopped attacking but the Jackals and Drones ignored the Ultra Grunt.

Two Jackals were cut down in a hail of gunfire. A trio of Drones fell out of the sky. The local police forces began attacking the Covenant troopers. "I told you! I told you! Stupid Jackals! No one ever listens to me!" Curlap screeched as he dove for cover behind a parked car.

Hiding behind a different car, Gagaw called out to Curlap. "Why you care what happens to some Kig-yar?"

"The longer they live the less fighting we have to do, now they dead and we gotta risk our necks," Curlap explained over the roar of gunfire, as if he were carrying out a casual conversation.

Yayap heard bullets whiz by his head, barely missing him. Rather than dive for cover his legs had locked up in fear. But Yayap was firing back at the enemy. Another Drone was shot out of the sky and the corpse landed right on Yayap. The impact jolted Yayap out of his frightened stupor and he ran for cover behind a car.

Zakap tossed a plasma grenade, sticking one of the police officers. "Yeaeagh! Get it off!" the human yelled. One of his fellow officers actually did try to remove the grenade up the explosion took out both anyway.

Gagaw let loose an overcharged plasma shot and plastered another human in the chest. The Jackals used their wrist shields and deflected the incoming bullets.

The Drones swarmed around the remaining police officers and engaged them in melee combat. The close quarters brawl prevented the Grunts and Jackals from shooting up the humans. The Drones proved unable to kill the humans with brute strength. Their Elite squad leader jumped in the fight and started bashing the humans with his plasma rifle.

Sirens blared as a police cruiser quickly approached the fight. The police cruiser drove straight for Deadside, but the massive Hunter easily knocked the vehicle away using his shielded arm. The vehicle flew through the air and landed on an unfortunate Kig-yar.

More armed humans started to show up. Yayap noticed a large doorway into one of the nearby human buildings. Yayap ran over to where Curlap was hiding. "Hey, maybe we should get inside that building," Yayap pointed to the entrance.

"Yeah, good idea," Curlap agreed. Yayap and Curlap took off for the building. "Hey, follow me!" Yayap yelled at the others as he passed them. The other Grunts followed suit with Deadside bringing up the rear. The Elite Minor was overconfident and in the middle of the street. With no immediate cover, the Elite's shields were quickly stripped and the Sangheili was riddled full of holes. As the Grunts made it through the doors the humans overwhelmed the rest of the Jackal squad.

Mntis 'Kotoree was a little slow and several bullets bounced off his shields before the Elite Major retreated to the safety of the building. "How do we lock the doors?" 'Kotoree asked once he was inside.

"I dunno," Yayap answered. "They appear to be automatic. Will open for anybody."

"Including those humans," Mntis 'Kotoree stated.

"Duh, it is their door. We should assume it will open for them," Zakap tested the Elite's patience.

Deadside got in front of the door and aimed his needler cannon. "Deadside will watch the door," Zakap said. "But that's probably not the only entrance."

"We need to get to the second floor. We can shoot at the humans from higher ground," Yayap said, surprised by his own willingness to continue the fight as quickly as possible.

"Good thinking," Curlap said. "We need to find a stairway. Everyone split up and holler if you find some stairs."

The Grunts and Major Elite started searching the first floor of the building.

Yayap could not tell what the humans used this particular building for. It didn't look like one of the humans' military facilities and that was all that mattered.

"You'd think there would be humans in here," Mehmep called to Yayap, as the two were within talking distance.

"They probably all ran away," Yayap answered.

"I found the stairs!" Gagaw yelled, prompting all the others to turn around and head in the direction of his voice. The squad went up to the second floor and began exploring rooms.

"Find windows, then we blast them open and shoot through the holes," Yayap said. There were plenty of large windows to use and the Grunts wasted no time in overcharging their plasma pistols and smashing through them. Sounds of battle coming from the first floor could be heard as the humans had engaged Deadside. Bullets bounced off the Hunter's shield as Deadside's needler rounds pierced the armored vests of the humans.

The Grunts and Elite began raining down plasma blasts and grenades at the police force. Mehmep set up his portable plasma cannon and began to decimate the human ranks. The police could not take down the Hunter in the doorway nor could they target the Grunts in the window while the Special Ops Hunter was shooting at them.

Within a few moments the humans were reduced to a small handful, but the survivors stayed hidden behind cars and refused to leave their cover. Even as Mehmep's plasma cannon put the cars full of holes the humans still didn't budge.

Deadside left the doorway and charged. The humans still did not leave their cover, even to attack. Deadside knocked one car back, crushing the human hiding behind it. That caused the last two humans to move, but they were cut down by the Grunts above.

"Nice!" Gagaw exclaimed, obviously pleased with their victory.

"Great," Curlap whined, "now we need to get moving again and find some new allies to team up with." The squad left the building and started looking for a larger group to attach to.

The Grunts kept to the sidewalk while the Hunter trotted right in the middle of the street. They came across occasional groups of terrified human civilians but nothing like the numbers they saw previously. Once in a while an occupied car would come careening down the street and the Grunts would take potshots at it before Deadside would smash it.

Eventually, Yayap's squad came across a larger Covenant group that was engaged with the human military. The humans were armed with MA5B assault rifles and BR55 battle rifles and a few M247 machine gun turrets. The Covenant troops were composed of mostly Grunts, Jackals and Drones. The only Covenant troops that were standing out in the fight were a pair of Red Hunters.

Unlike the standard Hunters, Red Hunters wore red armor and had needler cannons rather than fuel rod cannons. Hunter ranks were based on the weapons they wielded. Blue Hunters wore assault cannons that fired in a continuous stream. Gold Hunters used fuel rod cannons that fired a single bolt. Red Hunters utilized needler cannons. Special Ops Hunters could choose any cannon mount they wanted. In addition to the standard three options, Special Ops Hunters also had the option of a four-barreled carbine cannon.

The humans were holding out until Yayap's group came in. Yayap, Gagaw, and Nomnom fired at the humans manning the M247 gun emplacements. The turrets didn't fire back as they were preoccupied with enemy Drones. Deadside joined in with the two Red Hunters in needling the human infantry. The Jackals were doing poorly against the humans wielding battle rifles.

After a few minutes of fighting, the remaining humans fled. The Covenant troops gave chase and easily gunned them down. The short chase led them to the foot of a bridge where human police were setting up a blockage in the middle of the overpass.

"Come on, let's get em!" Gagaw said enthusiastically.

"Charge!" Curlap yelled. The Covenant infantry stormed across the bridge to the police blockade. Deadside and the two Red Hunters charged in first, killing most of the humans. The Grunts were content to fire wildly in the direction of the police, without doing any meaningful damage.

A Phantom carrying a Wraith flew over the heads of the charging Covenant infantry. Yayap thought that it was dropping off reinforcements to help in the fight but the transport kept going, Wraith still attached and left the area as quickly as it came.

"The fight's over here you idiots!" Nomnom yelled at the ship as it left.

Before Yayap knew it, he was standing in the middle of the bridge walking through piles of human corpses.

"That was easy," Mehmep remarked as he kicked a human corpse.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Yayap said.

"Stuff your feelings, things are actually going well," Mntis 'Kotoree said.

Yayap heard a rumbling behind him and turned around. "Look out!"

A massive blast blew apart one of the Jackals that had survived from the previous fight. A Scorpion M808B main battle tank had appeared at the end of the bridge where the Covenant had came from.

"Run away!" Nomnom started running toward the opposite end of the bridge.

"Good idea!" Gagaw joined him.

"Retreat!" Curlap ordered but the others were already running away.

The Scorpion tank crossed the bridge, knocking aside abandoned civilian vehicles in its' way. It occasionally fired its' 90mm high velocity cannon at the Covenant infantry, but continually came up short of its' intended targets.

The Covenant raced to the opposite side of the bridge, weaving in-between abandoned cars and trucks. Motivated by fear, the Grunts had pulled ahead of the pack, outrunning even the Hunters. A Drone decided to ditch the land based troops and flew away from the bridge altogether. The battle tank noticed the lone airborne trooper and fired its' medium machine gun at it. The Drone was torn apart and only a few tiny pieces of the used to be a Yanme'e drifted away in the wind.

Yayap and the others made it to the opposite side of the bridge. "Quick, into the alleys where the tank can't follow us!" While the Hunters were barely able to squeeze through the alleys, the Scorpion battle tank had no way through and was left behind.

Yayap led the way as the small group wandered through the dirty, twisting back alleyways. At once the entire team stopped in their tracks. The ground quaked with mighty rumbles. A Scarab was nearby, and on the move. The Covenant infantry had nothing to fear from the allied unit, they still held their position to avoid getting stepped on until the behemoth of a vehicle had safely passed.

They got moving again and soon came across a war-torn parking lot. The pavement was stained with blood of various colors as well as a plethora of corpses. They heard a familiar rumbling again. The Scorpion had gone around the long way and somehow managed to find them again.

Yayap noticed a nearby run-down Ghost. He ran for the vehicle and pushed off the corpse of its' previous driver. Yayap got the Ghost moving get as the Scorpion came into view. Yayap fired the Ghost's cannons, circling around the large tank. The 90mm high velocity cannon swiveled to track the agile Ghost, but couldn't keep up.

Yayap's distraction was not enough. The medium machine gun's operator fired at the trio of Hunters. Now with both of the Scorpion's weapons occupied, Zakap ran right up to the tank and climbed up on one of the tread covers. Zakap shot the turret gunner, and then had to duck as the main cannon tracking Yayap swerved and nearly knock Zakap off the tank as he made his way to the driver's hatch.

Zakap forced the hatch open and threw a plasma grenade down for the driver. Zakap then made a mad dash away from the tank as it exploded from the inside. Yayap abandoned the heavily damaged Ghost, and just in time as the vehicle made a short noise and then exploded.

Meteors began to rain down from the sky. ODST drop pods came crashing down near the Covenant group.

"Its their Special Forces," Curlap declared.

"Finally a real fight!" Zakap was enthusiastic with the new development.

"Its raining humans," Mehmep said. Deadside immediately charged and knocked away a drop pod before its' door opened.

Zakap got right in front of another, and as soon as the door came off the Grunt blasted the shock trooper before he could even get out.

An ODST took aim at Yayap but was tackled by Gagaw as he tried to fire. "I'll bite your kneecaps off!" Gagaw threatened as he tried to wrestle the battle rifle away from the human. Not wanting to accidentally hit his friend in the close quarters fight, Yayap came running over to help Gagaw. The ODST ended up releasing his grip on the rifle and pulled out a combat knife.

Before the human could strike Gagaw, Yayap caught the human's arm and broke his wrist. Yayap then stole the combat knife and plunged it deep into the human's leg. The ODST's cry could be heard through his helmet. Gagaw knocked him down in an effort to shut him up.

"Why didn't you just shoot him?" Yayap asked Gagaw. "My plasma pistol was empty. I couldn't just do nothing, he was gonna shoot you."

The two Red Hunters shot another ODST full of needles until she exploded into a bloody mess. Mehmep managed to finish off the last one with his portable plasma cannon.

Tired of wandering about looking for allies, Mntis 'Kotoree called in to the carrier to find out what was going on.

"We're taking off soon, if you want to see the Sacred Ring, you better get back here," the Elite controller warned 'Kotoree. "Why is the carrier taking off? Wait…what?" 'Kotoree was confused. "What do you mean? The Sacred Ring was destroyed."

"Another has been found," the Elite on the other end replied.

"You're missing the important part, the carrier is going to take off," Yayap stated.

"Regret's an impatient one, he's probably going to enter the void right above the city," Zakap added.

"Awww crap," Curlap lamented.

"We gotta get outta here!" Nomnom started to panic.

"Back to the carrier!" Yayap ordered, taking charge of the bad situation.

"Will we be able to make it back in time?" Curlap asked.

"Better than being left behind on a human planet," Yayap responded as the group ran.

"Run away!"

The group was fortunate enough to find a parked Phantom. "That's convenient," Nomnom observed. They scrambled aboard and ordered the pilot to take them back to the carrier. Yayap took control of one of the side turrets, taking a few casual shots at any humans he noticed. He saw several Covenant infantry below running for cover, knowing that the carrier was going to take off soon. The Phantom was barely able to enter the hangar before Regret's carrier entered slipspace. The resulting shockwave sent individuals and vehicles flying all over the place.

The squad of Grunts practically fell out of the Phantom the moment it touched down in the hanger. "I'm tired," Nomnom complained as he rolled around on the floor, a task requiring energy and effort considering the size and shape of his backpack.

"Come on, we need to go refill our methane," Yayap said. They had somehow managed to survive a series of ordeals and the last thing they needed was someone dying from suffocation because they didn't refill their methane tanks.

"He's right. Come on boys, get your lazy asses up and moving!" Curlap yelled. The Grunts grumbled and complained as they got moving again.

"You're awfully bold the second we're out of danger," Zakap snickered to the Grunt Ultra.

"Oh? I'm sorry. Do you not need to breathe methane anymore?" It had been a long and dangerous day and the playful banter that usually occurred between Curlap and Zakap was starting to devolve into genuine frustration.

"Come on, we'll all feel better after a nap," Yayap defused the confrontation.

As the Unggoy began filing out of the hanger a Minor Elite ambushed 'Kotoree before the Major Elite could escape. "What is it?" 'Kotoree demanded of the lower-ranked Sangheili. He finally had the opportunity to be away from his squad of tiresome Grunts and he did not want to receive any orders directing otherwise. Mntis 'Kotoree was about to be very disappointed.


	4. Delta Halo

**Chapter 4: Delta Halo**

Regret's assault carrier and the human frigate, _In Amber Clad_ exited out of slipspace in front of another Halo.

"Attention, we've received orders to get down to the Sacred Ring. Humans have been sighted in the area," 'Kotoree ambushed the Grunts before they reached the methane suite.

"Ngh, why can't someone else deal with it for a change," Nomnom whined. 'Kotoree clenched his hands in frustration; even the Minor Grunt was openly disrespecting him now.

"They're still trying to kill me!" Zakap stomped his foot on the floor. 'Kotoree certainly had no patience left for that paranoid, overconfident, Special Ops Grunt.

"The Prophet is more concerned with protecting the Sacred Ring from the humans than whether you live or die," 'Kotoree told the irate Unggoy.

"Yeah, we'll see about that."

"No, we won't. Now all of you get in that Phantom," 'Kotoree ordered. Yayap was tired; his joints were sore. The break from the battle on Earth had not nearly been long enough. He had already seen enough humans in his lifetime. Unfortunately the Unggoy had no say in the matter.

The group started back. "We still need methane," Curlap told the red-armored Elite. "You caught us at a bad time."

"And you shall have it, when we reach the hanger," 'Kotoree answered. "You should refill your tanks more often," the Elite smugly lectured.

"You try functioning in a poisonous atmosphere," Curlap shot back.

"Fair enough." 'Kotoree had never really thought about the responsibility the Unggoy had in just staying alive and breathing. He certainly wouldn't want to be put in such a situation. 'Kotoree, like most of the higher Covenant races, didn't consider the Unggoy to be intelligent, though he had never heard of an Unggoy suffocating due to forgetting to refill his tank. Conventional thinking held that Unggoy were dumb enough to die in such a way. But that was not the case; maybe they were smarter than the other races gave them credit for.

"What are those idiots worried about humans for?" Mehmep whispered to Yayap as they walked back to the hanger. "What if the Parasite is on this Ring as well?"

"Then it will be the first Halo all over again," Yayap answered. Yayap was less depressed than he thought he'd be. The prospect of this turning into a repeat of the first Halo incident seemed very likely. Yayap had almost died that time. But this time he would be with friends, instead of serving at the beck and call of the now-decreased Elite Zuka 'Zamamee. The two certainly weren't friends, but Yayap was still saddened by the fact that 'Zamamee hadn't survived.

While on the Ring, Yayap had even threatened and lied to the Special Ops Sangheili and lived. An impressive feat for a lowly Unggoy. Though now that 'Zamamee was gone Yayap was now the only one left with a direct the memory of his bravery. Yayap elaborated on his exploits to the others when in the travel through slipspace. But Yayap's bravery was now overshadowed by Zakap. Yayap was more than happy to be out of the spotlight, he had had enough of that when he led his old squad and during his time on the first Halo.

But Zakap seemed determined to bring Yayap into the spotlight with him. Despite their opposing personalities the two got along well.

Once in the hanger the Unggoy took turns refilling their personal tanks from a single battlefield methane tank that was located in the hanger. The battlefield tank was round in shape and purple in color, with a blue valve at the top. Usually they were deployed on the battlefield to be used by Grunts when a more permanent refill station was inappropriate. Though they could be placed anywhere, in this case, it was in the hanger.

Once the life-giving methane was refilled for all who required it, the squad piled into the Phantom and took off toward the Sacred Ring below. Being able to walk on a Sacred Ring was supposed to be a great privilege. Yayap and the others had already walked on one Halo, and were about to tread on another. A true follower of the Covenant religion should have been hopeful and anxious, but Yayap was just weary and fearful. Yayap's optimism he had accumulated while talking to Mehmep had disappeared once the Phantom left the assault carrier. The last time Yayap was on a Sacred Ring things didn't go so well and he was minutes from fighting humans on another.

The ride through the Sacred Ring's atmosphere was pleasant. The side doors of the Phantom dropped down to allow a view. 'Kotoree ordered that the Phantom's side-mounted Type-52 plasma cannons be crewed. Gagaw took the port cannon while Mehmep took the starboard one.

They approached the drop zone. Yayap saw another Phantom leaving the area as his was landing. "Everybody out!" Curlap yelled. "You too, Gagaw, Mehmep!" The two Grunts abandoned their turrets and jumped down to the ground with everyone else.

The battlefield was covered with Unggoy, Kig-yar, and Sangheili bodies. Yet there was not one human corpse to be found anywhere. But there were four human drop pods littered about the area. That was not a good sign; the humans' elite forces usually used their drop pods.

"Stay sharp! Watch for their special forces!" 'Kotoree declared.

"Yeah, cause we needed to be told that. Ow! Ow! My tiny Grunt brain cannot bear the weight of the memory of what humans use their drop pods for."

'Kotoree couldn't take the indignity anymore. "Close your jaws or I will bind them shut!" He turned to Zakap and raised his plasma rifle, trying to scare some obedience into the Grunt.

A bullet slammed into 'Kotoree's thigh, but his personal shield held. Everyone scattered.

"Pay attention," Curlap lectured the Elite. 'Kotoree growled in frustration but caught sight of something new.

A Minor Elite seemed to be in charge of the failing fight. 'Kotoree dashed over and rolled into the cover where the other Elite was. "You in charge of this operation?"

"I'm not anymore," the Minor responded.

"Snee? Snee 'Balatee? By the Prophets! What good fortune to find you here!"

"'Kotoree, it would have more fortuitous if you had arrived sooner. These humans fight like demons."

More bullets sprayed the area. "I'm gonna check out what they got," Zakap started up his active camouflage and wandered up to where the bullets were coming from. Seconds went by as if they were hours. A Grunt from 'Balatee's squad tried to fire on the humans, and was immediately sniped. After that, no one dared break from cover.

"It's those Special Ops humans again," Zakap said as his active camouflage faded, revealing him to be near the two Elites.

"That's what I said earlier," 'Kotoree snapped.

"Who would have thought they'd all still be alive? Look at all these Covenant bodies," Zakap shot back. "You'd think our side would have scored some kills. One has a rocket launcher, and we've already met the sniper."

The Orbital Shock Drop Troopers. One was armed with a sniper, another had an SMG, the third had a battle rifle, and the four was making a mess with a rocket launcher.

Two Banshees flew in, but both were destroyed by the rocket launcher before they could do any damage. Burning purple debris raining down on the Covenant troopers.

"Ah! Stupid Banshees do more harm than good!" Gagaw complained as he swatted a small piece of violet metal off his shoulder.

"This is most unacceptable," 'Balatee griped. "They don't ask much for pilot candidates, do they?"

"Now what?" Curlap called over at the Elites.

"Their ammunition must be low, we will all charge at the same time," 'Kotoree said loud enough for all to hear.

"Wort wort wort," Snee exclaimed.

A Jackal Minor, the last survivor of 'Balatee's squad, charged out first.

SMG bullets slashed against a Jackal's teal shield. The Kig-yar held his ground but was taken out by a sniper round. Deadside replaced the fallen Jackal, giving the humans a more durable target to shoot at.

'Kotoree and the Grunts started moving up, aimlessly firing in the direction of the humans in the hope that their combined attacks would force the humans to cover. 'Balatee stayed back, zooming in with his beam rifle. He fired once, and missed. The Elite caught the attention of the ODST sniper.

'Balatee and the human sniper hit each other at the same time, though the Elite's life was spared by his shields. The human had no such protection.

"Man down!" one of the humans was heard screaming.

Just as the Grunts started to make their real advance, a Pelican appeared in the sky overhead, providing support fire. The flying enemy forced the Grunts to run back to cover. The Pelican dropped off a Warthog and fled the scene.

The three remaining ODSTs ran for the vehicle. Firing as they went, they kept the Grunts behind cover as they entered the Warthog and took off.

"No fair! We were winning!" Gagaw thundered. The Grunt Major seemed to have forgotten about the Covenant corpses that littered the battlefield. The ODSTs' retreat was most beneficial to the Covenant they were fighting.

"We can pursue. There is a Shadow nearby," 'Balatee broke out in a run. The Sangheili was determined to kill the humans that had eradicated his squad and made him look like a fool. 'Kotoree was hot on his friend's heels and the others also followed.

"There," 'Balatee took the pilot seat. Mehmep ran up the top of the Shadow to man its turret. Zakap also went topside while everyone else took to the troop section. It was slightly crowded with Deadside, but no one was willing to leave the powerful fighter behind.

The Shadow took off for where the Warthog went. "Where are they going?" Yayap asked. He wondered why the humans did not simply turn around and fight them directly. After all, the battle had been going their way the entire time, who wouldn't want to continue to ride such a wave a success?

"It won't matter, they'll be dead soon enough," 'Kotoree answered.

Slowly, the Shadow started to catch up to the Warthog, which was slowed by the fact that it kept hitting hills wrong and almost turned over on multiple occasions.

Mehmep opened up with the Shadow's deadly turret. The first three plasma bolts missed, but the fourth hit dead on. The Warthog started to weave back and forth, the driver spurred to evasive maneuvers once they had finally been hit. The Warthog gunner fired at the front of the Covenant bus.

The constant serpentine caused the Warthog to lose more ground, and the Shadow was able to pull right alongside it. The two vehicles smashed into each other. The Warthog was no match for the Shadow's size and nearly capsized.

The rocket trooper fired into the front of the Shadow causing 'Balatee to temporarily lose control. The Shadow skidded and came to a halt. It looked as if the ODSTs were going to get away, except now they were approaching a pair of Red Hunters.

The ODSTs, who were still focused on the Shadow, never saw it coming. Including the driver who should have been paying attention, but was busy looking over his shoulder to see what had become of the Shadow. The Warthog barreled down on the two Red Hunters, who fired their needler cannons, blowing the vehicle to pieces.

The Shadow caught up and pulled alongside the wreck. Snee 'Balatee jumped out to search for survivors. 'Balatee howled in anger when he found that none of the ODSTs had survived the blast. He had wanted to kill them himself.

"Come my friend, we have much catching up to do and more humans to kill," 'Kotoree said.

"Yes, that we do." 'Balatee kicked a piece of Warthog wreckage.

This time 'Kotoree took the driver's seat while 'Balatee sat with the Grunts in the troop section. It became quite clear what the Red Hunters were originally doing and where the ODSTs were going.

A squad of marines was fending off Covenant troops not far off. 'Kotoree noticed the smoking ruins of a Wraith and pulled the Shadow over. Yayap and the others left the transport.

"Not more rocket launchers," Mehmep moaned as they ran past the wrecked Wraith.

"Maybe they used them all already," Yayap said, trying to be positive. They thought the ODSTs would have run out of ammo, hopefully this time was different.

The Grunt squad vaulted over more Covenant corpses. High in the sky Drones were being shot to pieces. No fire was coming the Grunts' way.

Zakap pilfered a full needler from an Unggoy corpse and then returned to the charging with the others. There were only five humans left, though the Drones were almost gone now.

'Balatee sniped one of the marines in the head. Not to be outdone by his friend, 'Kotoree nailed one with a plasma grenade. Predictably, Deadside popped one with his needler cannon. The last two humans backed behind the cover of a few boulders.

Emboldened by the current success of the skirmish, the Unggoy charged in, only to be greeted by incoming fragmentation grenades. The Grunts scattered and dove for safety, no one getting caught in the full force of the explosions. Gagaw was stunned for a moment, but was quickly up and moving.

As if they were one entity, Yayap and Zakap both activated their camouflage and flanked the two humans. Yayap took the left while Zakap went right.

The two Special Ops Grunts ended up at the sides of the marines, who were still focused on the others. Yayap and Zakap had gone completely unnoticed.

Yayap primed a plasma grenade and tagged his marine. The blue ball of death stuck to the marine's helmet. The human's entire upper body was missing after the explosion.

The other marine jerked around and pointed his assault rifle at Yayap. That's when Zakap made his move. He fired three needles into back of the marine's right leg, causing the human to drop his weapon and fall to the ground.

The marine tried to pull a pistol on his new attacker, but Zakap cut the human's throat with a melee attack using the sharp side of his needler. "Ugh, so soft and squishy!" the Unggoy then knocked the marine to the ground. The marine still tried to move, and Zakap silenced him with a single needle to the face.

A Phantom appeared in the sky. "Our ride is here," 'Balatee said.

"Interesting they're never around to provide air support when we need them most," Yayap observed. Deadside grunted in agreement.

The Covenant troops climbed aboard the Phantom, eager to be done for the day. 'Kotoree and 'Balatee talked with the pilot while the Unggoy conversed among themselves.

"Can we go back to the carrier now?" Nomnom whined loud enough for all to hear. "I'm sleepy!"

"Stop crying. We have new orders," 'Kotoree stated. A chorus of groans sprang forth from the Unggoy. 'Kotoree snarled, the Elite Major was no happier with the situation than the Grunts were.


	5. 100,000 Years War

**Chapter 5: 100,000 Years War**

"What's going on? What's our mission?" Curlap asked.

"We have been assigned to assist the Arbiter in collecting the Sacred Icon," Mntis 'Kotoree explained.

"What? Since when is there a new Arbiter?" Zakap's voice was filled with disdain.

"Since shut up and follow orders," the Sangheili Major snapped.

"Bah. I will not follow an Arbiter. I remember what the last one did," Zakap remembered the late Ripa 'Moramee's involvement in suppressing the Sixteenth Unggoy Disobedience.

"We will not be working directly with the Arbiter. We are here to draw fire." 'Kotoree expected the Special Ops Unggoy to grip about how the higher-ups were still trying to get him killed, but the Grunt instead remained silent. Apparently he was content to not be around an Arbiter.

Yayap, however, was certainly not content with the situation as he saw it. "We're going to need to refill our methane again soon."

"They'll probably be a battlefield tank nearby," Mehmep guessed.

It was starting to get dark. The Phantom reached the target area and dropped off the group. The Grunts plowed headfirst into the unknown while the two Elites and the Hunter stayed back to observe their surroundings. They were at the entrance of some Forerunner structure, but there were Covenant supplies scattered about. Most notable was a Covenant communication node surrounded by haphazardly placed supply cases.

"Over there," Yayap pointed to a battlefield tank.

"Nomnom, Gagaw, stand guard while we fill up. Then we cover you," Curlap instructed.

Yayap went first. After he was refilled he checked around. The two Elites were checking their weapons and talking amongst themselves. Deadside had meandered over to the battlefield methane tank, standing guard.

Yayap thought he heard something. He wandered off from the main group. Yayap made sure to check the ceilings and walls as he went, not wanting to get caught by any sneaky Flood. If he were lucky there wouldn't be any Flood this time.

Yayap saw a plasma pistol laying on the ground, but no sign of its owner. He checked the weapon and upon seeing that its battery was nearly fully charged, took it as his own.

Then a small metal object whizzed by Yayap's face. The startled Unggoy backed up a few paces and sighted on the object. A Constructor. Constructors were small robots designed to repair damaged Forerunner structures. The Constructor hovered about, seemingly oblivious to Yayap's presence. The tiny robot looked harmless but Yayap kept his plasma pistol trained on it anyway.

It turned away from Yayap and the Unggoy followed it towards what looked like some sort of pillar. The Constructor stopped in front of the pillar and began emitting a small green beam at the control strip. It was white but was starting to turn blue.

"Agha! Bad things!"

Yayap jumped. He started searching around for the new voice. It was the voice of an Unggoy. "Where are you? What's going on?"

An Unggoy Major came out from hiding behind a supply case. "Aaack, evil machines," the red-armored Grunt fired at the Constructor with his plasma pistol. The Grunt missed six times before overcharging his pistol and letting the gun do the aiming.

"What's so bad about those things?" Yayap looked at the smoldering remains of the wrecked robot. Yayap heard a sound, like some sort of weird energy charge or something, he didn't know. Then he heard the whine of engines, engines he had heard before.

A Sentinel slowly approached the two Unggoy. It made a muffled beeping sound and then opened fire. Yayap was able to belly flop out of the way just in time. The Grunt Major ran off. Yayap overcharged his plasma pistol and fired, turning the Sentinel into a pile of scrap in a single shot.

Curlap and Zakap came running over, weapons drawn. "What's going on?"

The whining charge was heard again and a second later another Sentinel appeared. The combined fire from the three Grunts took it down fast.

"Where are they coming from?" Zakap asked.

Another whining sound, the trio of Grunts followed it to a bright hole high on the side of a wall. Another Sentinel popped out and was promptly destroyed. Curlap tossed a plasma grenade, destroying the entrance.

The others caught up. The other Unggoy had finished refilling while Deadside guarded. The two Elites had no excuse for not going to check out what was going on, 'Kotoree kept them back on the off chance that Zakap might be killed without them to assist. That was not the case, and the Elite Major was stuck with the Special Ops Grunt.

"There, the little robot was doing something there," Yayap pointed.

"What?" Mehmep asked.

"Don't know." Yayap thought a moment, and couldn't come up with anything.

The Grunt Major came out of hiding. "Where is your leader?" 'Kotoree demanded.

"Dead I think. I stayed back to keep guard."

"A likely excuse to not fight," the Elite snapped back. "You will be coming with us."

Yayap didn't know what possessed him, something about what that robot was doing. He drew up his plasma pistol and fired at the pillar.

It opened revealing a tunnel downward. Zakap looked over. "Oooo, where that lead?"

Mntis 'Kotoree acted decisively, kicking the Grunt down the well.

"Aaaagh!"

The piston closed up. The two Elites laughed long and hard, almost falling over. They were oblivious to the annoyed Special Ops Hunter.

"We gotta go after him," Yayap proclaimed. He fired again and the piston opened.

"Have fun with that," Snee 'Balatee chuckled.

"You first," Yayap instructed.

"You dare order me about?" 'Balatee threatened.

"I do."

Deadside growled, backing Yayap. Not wanting to piss off the Hunter, the two Elites jumped in. The piston closed. Curlap shot the pillar this time, and Grunts went down, followed by Deadside. They could hear the terrible screech as Deadside's armor scrapped against the walls. The Hunter was having a hard time fitting through.

Nomnom, the first of the Grunt group to make the jump, landed on top of 'Balatee as he hit the end.

"Get off of me whelp," the blue-armored Elite knocked the Grunt off, only to be crushed by the other Unggoy as they fell to the bottom.

"Get out of the way!" Yayap yelled as everyone scrambled away as Deadside hit the bottom with a thud.

"You ass," Zakap said to 'Kotoree.

"You have to admit, it was funny," the Sangheili laughed.

"It was," Gagaw giggled. Zakap shot the Grunt Major a look for taking the Elite's side.

"Come on, we gotta keep moving," Curlap herded the squad forward. They were now inside, but inside of what they had no idea. There were a few Jackal corpses strung about and bits and pieces of what used to be Sentinels. Nothing terribly useful or interesting. They discovered a cowering Grunt Minor, who joined the group.

The whining charge was heard once again. "Where that coming from?" Zakap asked, turning his head about.

"Hurry, find the entrance!" Yayap instructed.

"Over there!" A Sentinel had already escaped from the launcher. The Grunts shot it down and 'Balatee destroyed the entrance. More launchers opened up.

"This sucks," Gagaw stated. From different directions, several Sentinels attacked at the same time. The Sentinels deemed Deadside to be the greatest threat, and all targeted the Hunter.

The Grunts went to work with their plasma pistols, which were extremely effective against the hovering machines. 'Balatee and 'Kotoree went about finding the launchers and destroying them, preventing more Sentinels from showing up.

The floor was littered with trash, the Grunts having to shove their way through to get to the other end of the area. They ran into another piston. "Not this again," Zakap complained. 'Kotoree laughed.

"Yeah, we'll see how funny it is when I push you down."

"I doubt that very much," 'Kotoree towered over Zakap. Nomnom used his pistol to overheat the piston.

"Wow, the drop is much shorter this time," the Grunt Minor observed. 'Kotoree hopped down first, not wanting to find out if Zakap would really try to push him or not. The squad took turns filing down the hole, occasionally having to overheat the piston again as it would try to close up every few moments.

Once they were all down to the lower level they started to explore. The new area was much larger than the previous one. "Don't spread out too far, we might get lost," Curlap said.

Nomnom opened fire with his plasma pistol, prompting everyone to turn towards where he was shooting. It happened to be a closed Sentinel entrance. The plasma pistol wasn't doing any damage.

"It's not blowing up," Mehmep said.

"I guess we have to wait for it to open," Gagaw pounded his hands on the cold floor.

"Then we will have to fight the Sentinels," Yayap stated.

"That sucks in a big way," Nomnom stopped shooting.

Suddenly, the hatch opened and they all heard the telltale charging sound. But the sound was coming from everywhere. Multiple hatches were opening at the same time.

In a split second, Sentinels were everywhere. The fight got real messy and confusing really fast. The Grunts all scattered around, trying not to be hit by the beams. The better-armored Elites took towards fighting the robots head-on.

Yayap tried to stick with Gagaw but had to stop and blast a Sentinel with an overcharge shot. When he turned again, he couldn't tell where his friend had run off to. Yayap then had to blast a second Sentinel, and then a third. His pistol was running low on energy.

The latest Sentinel surprised Yayap, flying in lower than the others usually did, Yayap could have smacked the machine if he wanted. This Sentinel was different; it had a gold hue to its armor and shot a blue beam. The Sentinel fired in short bursts, grazing Yayap's backpack, Yayap fired back but the robot's shields absorbed the attacks.

The Sentinel had him. Yayap tripped and fell backwards, his large, triangular backpack keeping him from crashing to the floor. He waited for the inevitable beam of energy, but it never came. The Sentinel was destroyed at the last second by a well-placed plasma grenade.

Who had thrown it? Yayap righted himself and turned to see a Brute. It was a Brute Captain Ultra, clad in cyan power armor.

"Be thankful this day Unggoy, for you have been saved by Natarus, the mightiest of all the Jiralhanae." Natarus let out a voracious howl, pleased with his success in saving the Unggoy before the Sentinel killed him. Natarus was disdainful of Unggoy, he did not care whether the Special Ops Unggoy lived or died. He was proud of his ability to accomplish an objective, any Jiralhanae could have killed a Sentinel, but it took skill to destroy one while keeping a weak Unggoy alive.

Another Sentinel blasted Natarus in the back. Yayap overcharged his plasma pistol and took it out.

"Ha ha! Trying to return the favor?" Natarus chuckled. Natarus and Yayap turned their attention to the battle at large. The Unggoy had regrouped, and the Sentinels were doing especially poorly. Then Yayap noticed why, a Brute Stalker was winking in and out of existence. With the fast firing Brute plasma rifle, the Stalker was efficiently eliminating the Sentinels.

With the sky free of belligerent robots, the Covenant went about destroying the Sentinel launchers.

"Excellent work, Brutus," Natarus complimented the Brute Stalker. Once the battle was over, Natarus noticed the two Elites. The Brute gave a short snort, he couldn't stand Elites.

"Come, forward toward the Sacred Icon."

"Right, we kill 'em all," Zakap boasted. Natarus noticed that the two Elites were quiet and hanging back, which was curious. Usually Sangheili were loud-mouthed braggarts who were quick to let everyone know who was in charge. Whatever was going on with this squad, Natarus was at least thankful that the Elites weren't talkative.

The group started forward with their two new Brute companions. Natarus gave Deadside a wide berth; the Captain Ultra preferred to stay out of the way of Mgalekgolo.

"Don't worry, he no bite," Zakap chided Natarus.

"Oh course Mgalekgolo don't bite; they crush, or slice, or stomp, or fire their massive cannons."

"Yeah, there's that," Zakap admitted.

Natarus was confused, these Unggoy were unusually brave.

"What's the situation?" 'Kotoree finally spoke up.

"We shall find out soon enough," Natarus was snippy with the Elite Major.

A Jackal Zealot appeared from around a corner. His orange-gold shield gave his rank away immediately. Zealots also wore dull orange-gold highlights on their mostly gray armor.

"Yok, what have you to report?" Of all the races within the Covenant, Natarus hated the Kig-yar the most. And Yok was a bigger pain in the ass than most. If he weren't so proficient at his job Natarus would have killed him already.

"Communications chatter is a mess," Yok clicked his beak. "I can't get a hold of my troops. Something bad is going on."

"You can't reach anyone?" Brutus demanded.

"Where is my pack?" Natarus shook his spiker in frustration.

"I can't find my Kig-yar, let alone your Jiralhanae."

The Unggoy kept walking, right past Natarus. "Hey, where you going?"

"We'll do no good standing around," Yayap said. "We have to keep moving or we won't find anybody."

Natarus followed, increasing his pace to further the distance between himself and Yok. They came across another piston and went down. This time it emptied onto the snow. They were finally out of the structure.

They walked out onto the snow. There was a lone Grunt Heavy, who ran over to them, glad to be in the safety of numbers. Yayap noticed they kept encountering individual soldiers, rather than entire squads. Something was wrong.

They walked for a short time, ending up entering another Forerunner structure. There were no enemy Sentinels to greet them this time. There were no Covenant, living or dead. There was nothing.

Finally they stumbled upon a few Constructors. "Get them!" Natarus howled.

"Wort wort wort," the two Elites said in unison.

"Bad things!" The squad chased them down and destroyed them. A brief moment of excitement, and then nothing.

"Go make yourself useful and scout ahead," Natarus told Yok. Before Yok could reply needler fire was heard. Everyone rushed towards the sound, the Elites and Brutes leading the way. Yayap was more than happy to let them go first but Zakap was genuinely trying to keep up and stay in the front, inspiring the lesser-ranked Grunts to follow suit.

They found no enemies, only a single Special Ops Jackal. Special Ops Jackals were recognizable by their black wrist shield.

"Zheng!" Yok exclaimed.

"The Flood is here!"

"Where?" Brutus raised his red rifle.

"I don't see anything," Gagaw said.

Weapons were being pointed in every which direction, but there were no Flood to be found. There weren't even any corpses.

"They were here a moment ago," Zheng explained. The group moved into the next area. The air was starting to get cloudy.

"I smell trouble," Mehmep said.

Gagaw noticed another Unggoy cowering in a corner. "Hey, over here!" The red armored Grunt called out. The other Unggoy didn't respond, it was hard to see but it looked as though he were shivering with fear.

"Don't worry, we all friends here," Gagaw went over to comfort the coward.

As soon as Gagaw got within reach, the other Unggoy whipped around and pounced on him. A Flood combat form.

"Help! Help! Get this thing off me!"

Yayap and Zakap rushed over, grappling with the Flood monster. They were annoying enough that the creature wasn't able to land a fatal strike on Gagaw.

Yok overcharged his plasma pistol. "No! You'll hit the others!" Nomnom swatted the pistol in another direction. The shot went wild, toward Zheng. The Special Ops Jackal was able to bring his shield up just in time to save himself from the green ball of death.

"Watch the friendly fire!"

"Tell that to Mr. Gold Shield over here," Nomnom yelled.

"You dare challenge me?"

"I do," Nomnom was very casual about disrespecting the Jackal Zealot, mimicking Yayap's earlier disrespect towards 'Kotoree and 'Balatee.

"Pay attention," Natarus scolded. "We cannot afford to fight each other while the Flood is upon us."

Yayap and Zakap were able to pry the combat form off Gagaw and Mehmep and Curlap shot it to pieces once everyone was clear.

"Maybe we should turn back," Curlap suggested.

"No, we must press onward," Natarus commanded. The two Elites were the first to enter the next hall, the sounds of gunfire from human weapons echoed.

The remains of a squad of marines were fighting off several Flood combat and carrier forms. The Covenant rushed to assist, and the humans did not fire on them. Both sides were more concerned with eliminating the Flood than each other.

Yayap found the whole thing rather odd, they were suddenly fighting alongside humans, as if there had been no war between the two groups. That and they were actually beating the Flood back, for a time.

Human, Elite, Jackal, Brute, and Grunt combat forms were blasted. But for each Flood that fell, two more seemed to take their place. Combat form corpses started piling up, and were eventually being resurrected by infection forms unleashed from destroyed carrier forms. It was a vicious cycle where both sides seemed to be winning and losing at the same time.

The cycle was broken when a small group of Sentinels joined in, helping thin the Flood's numbers to the point where they were wiped out. Once the common enemy was defeated, the three teams turned on each other. The Sentinels were the first to turn on their temporary allies, wanting to eliminate any potential hosts for the Flood.

The battered humans didn't put up much of a fight, considering the two Jackals were up front and used their shields to protect the other Covenant troops from the majority of the humans' bullets. The Grunts stayed behind the Jackals and lobbed plasma grenades.

The last surviving marine tried to run, but the Yok and Zheng shot him up before he could get away. The Sentinels were no match for Natarus, Brutus, and Deadside.

As the Covenant group continued onward, the air continued to get thicker with Flood spores. A scuttling movement could be heard all around, but no attacks came. In the distance they could hear the sounds of Sentinel beams tearing into Flood flesh.

"We in trouble now!" Nomnom exclaimed as a Brute combat form charged towards them through the dirty mist. Natarus couldn't tell if the former Brute was a member of his pack or not. Either way, he still carved it up with the blades of his spikers.

They eventually caught up to the noise, an entire room full of Flood and Sentinels fought with each other. Yayap would have preferred to just sneak past, but the two Brutes and two Elites were insistent on joining the fight and dragging everyone else into it. Considering how much the Brutes and Elites hated each other, they sure had a lot in common. Perhaps that was why they hated each other.

The Covenant blasted their way to another victory and found a lone Drone that had somehow managed to stay alive.

After another long series of corridors the Covenant troopers finally found themselves outside again. The haze of Flood spores had dissipated when faced with the downpour of snowflakes, the infection was still in the beginning stages. Only in closed areas were the Flood starting to alter the atmosphere. Even if the Flood did significantly alter the air, the Grunts would be safe in their masks, breathing their own methane. The same could not be said for the others.

A pair of Covenant drop pods came down in the distance. Close enough that Yayap could see that Special Ops Elites were in them when the pods opened up. The second the Elites touched down on the snow they were overtaken by Flood combat forms.

"Weaklings!" Natarus thundered at the sight before charging in.

A third drop pod came down, right in front of Yayap. He was knocked off his feet. The damn thing had nearly skewered him. Yayap was just getting up just as the door popped off, and smashed right into him. Yayap was slammed back down into the snow. Gagaw went over to help his friend up as the Special Ops Elite ignored the two and dashed towards the nearest Flood.

"Lousy Elites," Gagaw mumbled.

Flood seemed to converge from every direction, followed by a variety of Sentinel types to counter them.

"There!" Curlap pointed. "The lookout tower, let's go." The Grunts quickly moved towards the deployable tower. The Jackals were slower to approach, since it was Curlap who gave the order to approach. They dared not obey an Unggoy but came to their senses once more Flood spilled over the battlefield.

Mehmep manned a shielded plasma turret near the base of the lookout tower. Several of the Grunt allies Yayap's squad had collected went up the gravity lift into the safety of the tower.

"Where are the damn plasma batteries?" Curlap instead took a plasma rifle off a dead Flood combat form.

The Flood seemingly appeared from out of nowhere, perhaps originally hiding under the snow. The Covenant soldiers were completely surrounded but kept fighting. Zheng and Brutus activated their camouflage. Brutus appeared seconds later at a new location, burning a ranged Flood form with an incendiary grenade. Zheng appeared to have disappeared from the battle altogether.

An Elite combat form reached for Zakap, who used the chance to pry its needler away. Yayap then blasted the Flood as it tried to slap Zakap. Zakap returned the favor by needling a combat form sneaking up on Yayap. Yayap dove out of the way of the pink explosion that ended the Flood.

"There," Zakap pointed. "Get the fuel rod gun."

Yayap turned around and grabbed the purple-plated weapon the Flood previously had. He pointed the powerful weapon at a nearby carrier form and fired. The green blast sent the fat Flood flying. Once it hit the ground again, the carrier exploded.

Natarus and 'Kotoree seemed to be in a competition with one another over who could kill the most Flood.

Seconds passed as if they were hours but the Flood attacks finally started to die down. A Phantom flew overhead but passed the Covenant defenders by. A few seconds later, a Spirit came in. A pair of Flood stalkers morphed into tanks but were easily cut down by the Spirit's turret. Zheng finally reappeared.

"We must continue our campaign against the Flood," Natarus protested. The Brute still wanted to find his pack.

"The ship is not for us," Curlap answered. "It's for them." The Grunts Yayap's squad had collected started filing out of the lookout tower.

"Where are they going?" Nomnom asked.

"To High Charity, duh," Curlap answered.

"Would we not do better in bigger numbers?" Yayap interjected.

"Yes. But they are tired and scared and not used to keeping up at our pace. It is better for them to go and survive to fight again," Zakap explained. Yayap nodded that he understood.

The Spirit touched down to pick up the troops. Yayap wished he could go with them.

"Hey! Look at me!" Nomnom had found a needle rifle. "Wort wort! I'm a Sangheili!" The Grunt Minor tried to mimic the combat actions of an Elite. The Unggoy, Jiralhanae and Mgalekgolo laughed. The Sangheili were not impressed. Nomnom accidentally fired two rounds, but ended up striking a sneaking infection form no one took notice of before.

"What luck!"


	6. Quarantine Zone

**Chapter 6: Quarantine Zone **

The Spirit took off, and with it any chance of a quick escape.

"I don't get it," Gagaw watched the transport leave.

"What don't you get?" Mehmep asked.

"Why doesn't the Spirit just take us over to the Library? All easy if we fly there quick quick."

"Because the Elites are stupid," Nomnom accidentally fired the needle rifle again.

"So you're suddenly a master strategist?" 'Balatee challenged the Grunt Minor. "You can't even handle that weapon."

"No, that's not it," Zakap said. Almost everyone turned towards the Special Ops Grunt, most knew what was coming. "The officers are still trying to get me killed!"

"Shut up," 'Kotoree muttered. "I thought the other troopers couldn't keep up with you, and now you think you're going to die? Make up your mind!"

"Make me!"

"You just like to complain."

"So do you."

Natarus and Brutus couldn't believe what they were hearing; these troops they had come across were completely nuts! Unggoy and Sangheili arguing and trading insults as if they were equals! The two Jiralhanae would not have believed it if it weren't right before their eyes.

Natarus finally came to a judgment. "I like this squad," he told Brutus.

"They are amusing, if anything."

"What is that?" Gagaw blurted. Everyone shut up and looked where the Unggoy Major was pointing. A Super Sentinel floated through the sky, using its heavy beam weapon against a small group of Flood.

"Hide," Curlap ordered.

"Wort wort wort," 'Balatee exclaimed.

"What?" Natarus took in a deep breath. He wasn't one to hide from a battle. "You expect me to cower in fear?"

"If you wanna fight that thing head-on, be my guest," Curlap retorted. Natarus gave out a low snort, but knew the Ultra Unggoy was right.

The Covenant hid behind various pieces of wreckage, they were plenty of places to choose from. Yayap and Gagaw were behind a destroyed Banshee. 'Kotoree and 'Balatee hid behind the smoking remains of what used to be a Wraith. Yok hid in an overturned sniper tower. Zakap, Deadside, Brutus, and Zheng all activated their camouflage. Natarus, Nomnom, Mehmep, and Curlap converged around a scrapped Scorpion tank.

Seconds ticked by. The Covenant watched the Super Sentinel as it ruthlessly exterminated the Flood. Other Sentinels started to congeal around it, giving their larger cousin supporting fire. The Flood on the ground were nearly gone when the flyers showed up.

"What, they fly now?" Mehmep whined.

"Silence! We mustn't alert them of our presence," Natarus scolded.

Swarms of winged Flood surrounded the Super Sentinel. The regular Sentinels were quick to cut through the flying Flood. They fight was over in mere seconds. The Flood never stood a chance.

The area had been cleared, and the robots moved on to find new targets. The Covenant moved from out of hiding, again making their way in the direction of the Library. Almost the moment the Super Sentinel was out of range the Flood returned in force.

"Not again," Mehmep said.

This time the Flood had appropriated vehicles from their defeated enemies, being the reason why they were able to return to the area so quickly.

Yayap fired his fuel rod gun at a passing Ghost. The shot hit the purple vehicle at a low angle, sending it skyrocketing into the air. The Flood pilot let go and landed back down on the ground on its feet, ready to fire its plasma rifle at Yayap. It never got the chance as the Ghost came back down right on top of it.

"Get to the Ghost, we'll cover you," Zakap said to Yayap.

"Right." Not wanting to lug around the large weapon, Yayap passed the fuel rod gun off to Gagaw before making a run for the Ghost.

There wasn't much in Yayap's way, a few scattered infection forms, but the others kept them in check and Yayap was able to reach the Ghost without any problems. The first thing Yayap then went about doing was running over a combat form. The Flood were far less imposing when one was in a vehicle. Of course that viewpoint changed when the Flood was also driving around in vehicles.

Two combat forms were driving around in a Revenant. Yayap boosted up close to the enemy vehicle. Yayap had to stay close enough where the Revenant couldn't hit him with its light mortar but far enough that it would try to ram him.

Round and round, Yayap seemed like he was circling the Revenant forever. He tried shooting at the Flood passengers when he could. Eventually he managed to kill the driver. The Flood in the side seat, instead of taking over the driving duties of his fallen comrade, decided to burst out of the vehicle and run at Yayap. Yayap was then easily able to blast it to pieces. Mehmep took control of the Revenant and Curlap jumped in the passenger's seat.

Brutus stayed hidden with active camouflage; patiently waiting as a Flood controlled Chopper tore around the snowy battlefront. Right as it drove past him Brutus smacked the Flood off the Chopper and took it as his own. Brutus found another Flooded Chopper and shot off the pilot, providing Natarus with his own ride.

The two Brute Choppers then double-teamed a Flooded Spectre. Natarus and Brutus were skilled enough with their Choppers that they were able to shoot off the Flood without destroying the light assault vehicle. 'Kotoree took the Spectre's driver seat while 'Balatee took the plasma turret. Gagaw and Nomnom sat in the two passenger side seats.

The Covenant pushed onward but the slower infantry set the pace for those that had acquired vehicles.

The Flood were plenty but disorganized. The parasitic aliens were even less effective when Sentinel Enforcers started showing up. Enforcers were large Sentinels but not as large as the Super Sentinels. Enforcers were armed with pulse beams and missiles. They also had a pair of pincers that could be used to pick up and crush vehicles.

Several Flood controlled vehicles were lifted and crushed, but the Covenant had enough sense to steer clear of the Enforcers' tricks. Mehmep turned the Revenant's plasma mortar on the Enforcers, but they were able to withstand several shots before going down.

"I'm tired of walking. I want a ride!" Zakap complained as he struggled to keep up with the others. The two Jackals, Yok and Zheng were fast enough to keep up with the vehicles and Deadside had no problem destroying Ghosts and Warthogs with his powerful needler cannon.

"Hey, Deadside! Get me a Ghost! Don't destroy them all!" Zakap whined. The Special Ops Hunter grunted in compliance. The next Ghost that charged at the Hunter was not obliterated by his needler cannon. Deadside smacked the vehicle with his shield, but inadvertently destroyed it.

"Oh, come on!" Zakap complained. Deadside turned to the Grunt, annoyed at his adopted bond brother's impatience.

"Fine, I'll do it myself!" Zakap ran at a Flooded Wraith.

"Trying to get yourself killed now?" 'Kotoree pulled alongside the Special Ops Unggoy as he ran toward the mortar tank. 'Balatee blasted the Wraith's gunner.

Zakap crawled on top of the Wraith and threw out the driver. Luckily it was an infected Unggoy. Had it been a Sangheili or Jiralhanae Zakap would not have been able to overpower it.

"Ha ha ha! I got a Wraith losers!" Zakap declared over the comm for all to hear. He sprayed the plasma mortar everywhere. Not wanting to be hit, Yayap pulled back behind the Wraith. At first it seemed that the shots were random, but then Yayap noticed that each plasma burst landed on an enemy unit.

"Fuck you," Zakap obliterated a Ghost.

"Fuck you," Zakap destroyed a Warthog.

"And fuck you too," Zakap ruined a Scorpion tank that tried to stop the rampaging Wraith.

The Covenant group pushed forward again. There were more Sentinels than Flood now.

An interesting object came into view. An unmoving Locust. A Locust is a purple colored, four-legged walker that is slightly larger than the humans' Scorpion battle tank.

"I'm going for that Locust, cover me," Curlap ordered Yayap as the Revenant drove by.

"Right," Yayap boosted to keep up. A Sentinel Major got in the way, and Yayap blasted it for interfering.

Once at the Locust, Curlap jumped out of the Revenant. Curlap entered the vehicle, plasma rifle at the ready, but found that nothing was inside. No corpse, no Flood, no humans. Nice and easy.

The Locust started moving towards Zakap's Wraith. The walker unleashed a purple-pink plasma beam that destroyed a Enforcer that was approaching Zakap's Wraith.

"Right, who's the badass now?" Curlap taunted Zakap.

"Say that to my face!"

"Neaya ha ha ha ha!" Curlap was pleased with the response he was able to elicit.

"It's that evil thing again!" Nomnom fired a few needle rounds at the Super Sentinel, returning to the scene to end the troublesome Covenant.

A closer look revealed that the massive Sentinel was chasing a Prowler. A Prowler that was not full of Flood.

Everyone focused their fire on the Super Sentinel.

"Overdrive engaged," Curlap overcharged the Locust's plasma beam, draining its shields in the process.

The Super Sentinel came crashing down into the snow. Natarus pulled alongside the Prowler. "By the Prophets, Moartorus!" Natarus had found his missing pack. But something was amiss; the Prowler was packed, but only with Brute Stalkers. "Where are the others?"

"They fell to the Flood. They fought bravely, and we made sure that their corpses will not come back to attack us."

Natarus nodded. It was understandable that the lower ranked Brutes would fall under such dire circumstances. At least they died fighting.

Further ahead was a wrecked Sentinel factory; the Covenant swiftly drove around it. The air was getting dirty, but it was not from Flood spores. Ash and smoke from dozens of wrecked vehicles mixed in with the falling snow.

* * *

Ahead of Yayap's group, Thel 'Vadamee and Rtas 'Vadumee were approaching a gondola to take them to the Library. The two Elites paused when they heard the noise of a second gondola approaching the Library.

"More humans? They must be after the Icon." Flood wails echoed through the cold air. "On your way, Arbiter," 'Vadumee drew his energy sword. "I'll deal with these beasts!" The Special Operations Commander ran back where the screams emanated.

'Vadamee activated the gondola with a soft punch. "I see that coward didn't join you. I'll do what I can to keep the Flood off your back," Tartarus reported from his Phantom.

* * *

The first few combat forms 'Vadumee was easily able to dispatch with his energy sword. A small herd of infection forms merely popped against his shields. Rtas kept going further back, out into the snow again. Then the Elite stopped his advance.

A damaged Scorpion tank lay before him, controlled by the Flood. The dying machine looked to be accompanied by thirty or forty combat forms, Rtas couldn't tell. It didn't really matter now. His sword's battery was low. The Flood had him.

Rtas 'Vadumee was not about to roll over and die. He gave a mighty roar and charged straight at the Flood horde. The Scorpion battle tank exploded, knocking Rtas backward into the snow. The Elite looked up to the left to see that a Locust perched on a slope had destroyed the tank. A small army of Covenant vehicles came down the hill, quickly destroying the Flood.

'Vadumee got back on his feet. The Special Ops Commander didn't bother to charge at the Flood again, they were already defeated. A Brute Chopper pulled alongside the white-armored Elite.

"We've come for the Sacred Icon," Natarus declared.

"The Arbiter has gone on ahead to collect it," 'Vadumee answered.

More Flood cries echoed through the air. They were not far off.

Natarus snorted. "Very well." Natarus wondered why this Elite didn't join the Arbiter, but decided not to bring it up.

"The Flood is here!" Moartorus started up the Prowler.

After a few minutes of fighting wave after wave of Flood, the inevitable Sentinel army followed. The three-way fight did not last long, and the Covenant emerged victorious.

Natarus, and all other Brute leaders in the area, received a transmission from Tartarus. "Our mission has been accomplished, Phantoms will be here shortly to pick us up," the Captain Ultra informed the others.

"Finally," Yok griped. Natarus would have backhanded the Jackal had he been within reach.

Another Spectre came by, this one filled with Special Ops Elites. They retrieved Rtas 'Vadumee and left.

"Where is he going?" Brutus asked Natarus. The pair had their Choppers parked right next to each other.

"Who cares? He was too scared to continue on to the Sacred Icon with the Arbiter. A sniveling coward like that won't last long."

Yayap shut down his Ghost and got off. It was leaking and starting to smell of burnt metal. He didn't want to risk the Ghost blowing up while he was in it.

Zakap exited out of the Wraith and went over to Yayap. "Fun huh?"

"Not really."

"Wha? You can't tell me running down Flood isn't fun."

"How about next time I'll take the tank and you drive the Ghost."

"Either way works for me."

Curlap got out of the Locust. "I am the champion!"

"Our transport is here," Mntis 'Kotoree declared as a Phantom descended towards the Covenant soldiers.

For a moment it seemed that Halo had been emptied of enemies. Then suddenly a throng of Flood appeared from all directions.

"Let's get out of here!"

"Run!"

"Waaahaha ha!"

It was difficult but everyone managed to stuff themselves onto the transport. Grunts, Jackals, Elites, Brutes, and a Hunter were all smashed together, but it was better than dealing with the large group of Flood below. The Phantom took the group up to High Charity, leaving the mass of Flood behind.

"If I ever have to go back down to that Ring it will be too soon," Yayap declared.


	7. Does that mean I'm in charge?

**Chapter 7: Does that mean I'm in charge? **

High Charity was truly an impressive sight to behold, had one not already been there before. Before the human-Covenant war even started, Yayap had served as a sentry in High Charity's lower districts. Yayap was not impressed in the slightest. To him, High Charity was mundane and boring, but that meant it was safe.

Finally, Yayap was safe from the dangers of battle. However, instead of fighting Flood, Sentinels or humans, the Grunts were fighting each other.

"Flavored ice sticks!"

"Mine!"

"Gimme!"

Zakap, Gagaw, and Nomnom were arguing like children over the Unggoy candy.

An Unggoy Minor Yayap didn't recognize came into the methane suite, though he made no move to remove his mask or armor. "Is Zakap here?" The Grunt's voice squeaked.

"Yeah, that's me," Zakap chewed on his ice stick.

"A Skirmisher Champion wants to fight you. He's waiting outside the methane suite. He was going to kill me if I didn't fetch you."

"Ah, I see," Zakap quickly finished his ice stick and waddled over to his armor. "We'll get have to take care of that won't we?"

Curlap was the next to start donning his armor. Yayap likewise did the same; he hadn't even gotten an ice stick yet. It couldn't be helped; things always seemed to go wrong. The lower ranked Grunts were slower to respond. A few shouts from Curlap got them moving faster.

"Wait Zakap, what are we going to do?" Yayap asked. They hadn't brought their weapons into the methane suite with them. "What if they start shooting the moment we come out?"

"That's what active camouflage is for. I doubt that will happen. These honor-bound losers prefer to talk a bunch first rather than just shoot me."

"That's not always the case," Curlap interjected.

"Still, it doesn't happen all that much." The door to the outside opened and the Unggoy shuffled out to greet the troublemaker.

The Skirmisher was right in front of them, plasma pistol already drawn and at the ready. A small crowd of Unggoy had gathered around and a few Yanme'e watched from the air. Even a pair of Mgalekgolo stopped to see what was going on.

Skirmisher Champions wore orange armor and had a helmet that covered the top of their head. The most noticeable feature of a Champion was that they wore a small blue point defense gauntlet on each forearm.

Yayap noticed that Curlap and Zakap quickly scanned the area.

"I don't see any snipers," Zakap whispered through his mask as quietly as he could. Yayap could hear him just fine; it was often difficult to speak softly while wearing their masks. It was likely the Skirmisher heard as well.

"I can't believe this idiot came alone," Curlap whispered back. The Champion also likely heard that comment.

"You're a dead Unggoy, Zakap. You killed my cousin," the Champion croaked.

"Blah blah blah. I've killed so many of your kind in duels. And you all look the same. I don't have time for this shit anymore. You should have brought your entire bloodline so I can kill you all and be done with it right now. When you idiots come one at a time, it makes the process of your extinction take so much longer."

"You will pay in blood for your-"

"I've heard it all before," Zakap interrupted. Yayap noticed that Curlap had disappeared from the crowd. _Must have activated his active camouflage_. Yayap thought about doing the same, but was sure the Skirmisher would take notice of him. The best bet was to wait and watch for what the Ultra Grunt would do.

"How about you face me like a real warrior," Zakap challenged. "In unarmed combat."

"Tear apart an unarmed Unggoy?" The Champion tossed away his plasma pistol. "All too easy." Yayap noted the Skirmisher did not deactivate his point defense gauntlets.

Zakap crouched down, lowering his chest closer to the ground. Muscular arms spread wide in an inviting stance. "Whenever you're ready."

The Skirmisher Champion hissed, starting his approach. But Zakap was not talking to the Skirmisher.

Out of nowhere, there was a sudden pink blur.

The Skirmisher stumbled forwards. An energy cutlass was sticking through his stomach. Active camouflage gone, Curlap was revealed to be right behind the Champion.

"Unggoy don't fight alone, dumbass," Curlap pulled out the cutlass. The Champion fell down to his knees, gripping at the bleeding wound.

"Stupid Skirmishers," Zakap walked up and smashed the Champion's head down into the ground with a powerful slap. "A similar fate awaits the rest of your incompetent race." Zakap's final taunt signaled Curlap to behead the Skirmisher. A cheer rose up from the Unggoy crowd. The Yanme'e hovering above didn't seem to care either way. The two Mgalekgolo were unreadable.

Yayap finally understood Zakap's infamy. It was partly true. But rather than pure power, the Special Ops Grunt employed lies, trickery, and teamwork to stay alive. Zakap only played the part of a bloodthirsty fool, behind the façade was a levelheaded, clear thinking individual that did what was necessary to survive.

Zakap turned to Yayap. "Curlap doesn't always kill my opponents for me."

"Yeah, sometimes Deadside does it," Curlap taunted.

"I at least kill half of the pricks who challenge me to a duel."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

"Am I to assume that I may be included in your future duels?" Yayap asked.

"If the situation calls for it," Zakap sounded serious.

The Unggoy crowd suddenly began to disperse. Yayap's squad looked over to see the reason for the dispersion. Snee 'Balatee was approaching.

"What's this?"

"A dead Skirmisher," Zakap replied.

"I know that," Snee growled. "Why is he dead?"

"Take a guess."

The Minor Elite seemed to drop the line of questioning. 'Balatee stopped not out of fear from the Unggoy, but because he really didn't care about the dead Skirmisher leaking blood all over the floor.

"It is good I caught you out of your methane suite. There will be a restructure of our lance soon; the Jiralhanae and Kig-yar that fought alongside us on the Ring will be joining us. We are all to report in half an hour."

Curlap took over the conversation with the Elite. The Ultra Grunt was good at handling the boring details of orders.

"I could use an ice stick about now," Yayap said.

"Me too," Nomnom added.

"You already had yours!" Mehmep protested.

"No," Curlap stopped the others. "Collect your weapons and prepare to move out. The ice sticks will have to be eaten later."

"There won't be any left later," Gagaw grumbled.

Yayap and Zakap had to encourage the others to arm themselves in case more opponents decided to show themselves. As soon as they had properly armed themselves, Curlap ushered them towards the meeting.

* * *

On the way there, they ran into a group of Skirmishers. A Murmillo and Commando held needle rifles. A Major and two Minors clutched plasma pistols.

A group of four Suicide Grunts approached the standoff. They instantly caught everyone's attention, an easy feat considering their physical appearance. Suicide Grunts wore large, cylinder shaped methane tanks. The transparent tanks allowed the bright cyan chemical contents to be seen by everyone.

Suicide Grunts were a peculiarity in the Grunt ranking structure. At the same time they were one of the lowest and highest rank an Unggoy could achieve. The primary objective of a Suicide Grunt was to blow oneself up on the enemy using the specialized mixture in their methane tank, a messy but glorious fate.

Suicide Grunts took their members from the ranks of the highly devout, the overly brave, the stupidly foolish, the depressed, and criminals. Unggoy who had committed crimes were considered lucky if they were sentenced to service as a Suicide Grunt.

The four Suicide Grunts drew their plasma pistols and leveled them at the Skirmishers. "Do you have a problem?"

"Not with you," the Skirmisher commando responded. The two Skirmisher Minors pointed their pistols at the new Grunt group.

"You have a problem with one of us, you have a problem with all of us," another Suicide Grunt added.

For a short moment, everyone was frozen. All waiting to see who would make the first move that would lead to a fight that was likely to end all of their lives.

Yayap was not happy with the situation, why couldn't they all just get along? His thoughts brought him back to the time he spent on the _Pillar of Autumn_. During that short time, he commanded and gained the respect of a file of Jackals. Yayap wished Jak, Yeg and the others were still around. He preferred working together rather than against each other. And Yayap doubted he'd ever earn the respect of Kig-yar again.

"Come on," the Skirmisher Murmillo addressed his allies. "We're leaving."

"But-" one of the Minors protested, and was swatted by the Major.

"Shut up," the red-armored Skirmisher hissed at his subordinate. "You want to get blown up?"

"No."

"Then get moving," the Major shoved the Minor.

The Skirmishers backed down as the Grunts continued to hold their ground. Only after the Skirmishers were out of sight did the Unggoy relax.

"You weren't really going to?" Gagaw asked the Suicide Grunts.

"Maybe," one replied.

"Maybe not," another said. "Would prefer not to waste my life killing a few stupid Skirmishers."

"Likewise," Yayap said. After a short exchange of words, the two Unggoy groups parted ways.

* * *

On schedule, almost everyone had arrived for the meeting. The Grunts, Hunter, Elites and Jackals were present. Yok and Zheng were accompanied by a group of Jackal Minors, to replace Yok's Kig-yar that were lost to the Flood. Only Natarus and his Brutes were missing. Curious since they were the ones who called the get-together.

They had gathered at a hanging garden bridge that connected two towers together. An odd place to gather, Yayap would have guessed they'd meet at a barracks. It certainly was a dangerous meeting place, for there were no guardrails to prevent a fall down into the lower districts.

Natarus appeared shortly, but the rest of his pack was missing.

"What kept you?" Mntis 'Kotoree demanded.

"A minor bureaucratic squabble."

"Is that so?" the Elite was not satisfied with the answer.

"Hey everyone, shut up!" Yok clacked.

Natarus and 'Kotoree turned and glared at the Jackal Zealot.

"I hate that Kig-yar," 'Kotoree proclaimed.

"Something we can both agree on," Natarus crossed his arms.

Everyone caught the attention of what the Jackal was referring to.

A nearby vid screen was on with the volume cranked up. Apparently something big was going on. The screen featured the Prophet of Truth.

"We are, all of us, gravely concerned."

"I doubt that very much," Zakap muttered to Yayap as they watched.

"The release of the parasite was unexpected, unfortunate. But there is no need to panic. In truth, this is a time to rejoice. A moment that all the Covenant should savior," Truth raised the Index for all to see. "For the Sacred Icon has been found. With it, our path is clear, our entry into the Divine Beyond guaranteed! The Great Journey is nigh and nothing, not even the Flood, can stop it!"

There was suddenly a yelp, coming from a Grunt off-screen. Abruptly, the two Honor Guard Brutes raised their staves to shield the two Hierarchs from some unseen threat. Everyone was deadly quite as they watched the vid screen.

"Kill the Demon!" Truth commanded. The two Hierarchs escaped via the gravity lift. The camera feed continued on, the camera operator's status unknown. Needler rounds killed the two remaining Brutes on camera. A quick image of a Spartan appeared before the camera feed cut out.

Everyone started squawking and grumbling at the same time.

"The Demon is here?" Mehmep was dumbfounded. "How did it get all the way to the Hierarchs?"

"More importantly, what are we going to do about it?" Yok cut in.

"I'm gonna kill me another Demon!" Zakap declared.

"Was that the one you were hunting before?" Curlap asked Yayap.

"Yes, it looks the same as the one from the first Sacred Ring."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get him!" Zakap continued.

"Steady Zakap," Natarus tried to quiet the Special Ops Grunt.

"Why?" Yayap demanded. "The Demon is here!" If the Spartan could suddenly appear out of nowhere in front of the Hierarchs, then who knew what else might happen. Yayap had seen the Demon in action before and was not about to underestimate him.

"Tartarus will protect the Prophets," Natarus calmly answered.

Zakap wasn't interested in the Prophets safety. The Special Ops Grunt frantically paced about. He wanted to kill.

"The Demon is as good as dead. We would never make it in time," the Brute continued.

"You expect us to do nothing?" 'Balatee accused.

"Who are you to make that decision?" 'Kotoree demanded.

"I am making that decision as the leader of this squad."

"What?" 'Kotoree was dumbfounded. The Elite Major would have gladly given away his squad, but he would not allow it to be taken from him without his consent, especially from a Brute.

"It's already been decided," Natarus explained.

"Decided? With no input from me?" 'Kotoree was furious. Natarus didn't think the Elite had it in him. Back on the Ring he had seemed like a pushover, arguing with Unggoy.

"There may have been a change in the Honor Guard, but that doesn't mean the Jiralhanae suddenly have control of the entire military," 'Balatee spat.

"Calm yourselves," Natarus demanded. "The Jiralhanae have proven themselves to be excellent soldiers during the course of this war. We have not been promoted for no reason."

"This is unbelievable!" 'Kotoree shouted.

"Our military record speaks for itself," Natarus was enjoying himself now. "How can you argue with results?"

"Will you all shut up!" Zakap broke the tension between the Brute and the two Elites. "We have a Demon running around High Charity and all you idiots care about is who is in charge? Well guess what, none of you are in charge," Zakap pointed accusingly at Natarus, 'Kotoree, and 'Balatee. "I'm the biggest badass here and everyone knows it! That makes me in charge if I want!"

"Uhhhh…" Natarus was dumbfounded. The Grunt treated him the same as the two Elites.

"But I'm not the smartest, nor do I want to be in charge," Zakap went on. "Yayap and Curlap are the smart ones, they in charge!"

Yayap certainly did not want to be dragged into the argument. But that was not to be the case. Out of the corner of his eye, Yayap noticed the Skirmisher group that challenged them before had come back. The Skirmisher Murmillo aimed his needle rifle right at Zakap.

"Look out!" Yayap primed one of his plasma grenades and stuck the Murmillo before it took the shot.

Zakap and Curlap were quick to bring their plasma pistols to bear on the other Skirmishers. Mehmep, Gagaw, and Nomnom took and hint and also started shooting.

The Jackal Zealot Yok was not about to let the Skirmishers go unaided. "Kill! Kill them all!" Yok shouted to his new troops.

The Jackal Minors activated their cyan gauntlets and raised their plasma pistols. But not one of them was able to take a shot at the Unggoy. Deadside charged through the whole Jackal group, crushing four and sending two flying through the air. Yok was able to dive out of the Hunter's way just in time.

Zheng, who was out of the way already, was easily able to aim his needler and start shooting into the Hunter's backside. Deadside quickly turned around and brought up his shield to protect against the incoming needles.

Deadside reciprocated with his needler cannon and Zheng turned on his active camouflage and disappeared before the Hunter's needles made contact.

Natarus was silent and did nothing. He simply watched the fight unfold. He knew the fight would come, that Yok and the Unggoy would butt heads; he just didn't realize it would come so soon!

"So this is the Covenant under Jiralhanae leadership?" 'Kotoree remarked. "How pitiful, you cannot even control your own troops."

"Close your jaws or I will bind them shut," Natarus warned.

Before Natarus and the two Elites exchanged words any further, a small army of Kig-yar came running through the gardens from the back of the bridge.

"What is this?" 'Balatee demanded.

Many of the Jackals were cut down by the trigger happy Grunts. The Jackals weren't rushing to join in the fight; they were running away from something. Natarus and the two Elites turned to see that four Suicide Grunts were chasing after them, and that they had primed their methane tanks for activation.

'Kotoree and 'Balatee howled and started to run with the fleeing Kig-yar horde. Natarus drew his two spikers and fired at the incoming Suicide Grunts. The Brute Captain Ultra made a poor decision.

As soon as he killed one of the Grunts, they all exploded in a massive cyan-colored death blast that sheared the overpass in two.

The bridge started to fall and everyone was suddenly running for the other side.

"What's going on?"

"Wahahahahaha!"

"We're gonna die!"

Yayap saw Deadside run past him, he had never seen a Hunter move so fast. Yayap, the other Grunts, and the two Elites made it to the other side before the bridge collapsed completely.

Natarus was not so fortunate. The Brute didn't make it, and began his long fall towards the lower districts below.

* * *

Though no one saw, Natarus eventually fell on top of a passing Banshee. He kicked off the pilot, and an Elite Minor plummeted to his death in place of Natarus. The Captain Ultra took off in the aircraft, determined to link up with the rest of his pack.

* * *

Yayap and the other Grunts turned to see that Yok and Zheng had also made it to the other side of the bridge.

"This isn't over!" Yok threatened.

The Unggoy opened up with their plasma pistols to answer the Zealot. Yok brought up his shield to block the shots.

Two Minors from Yok's squad attacked the Grunts. Instead of helping their teammates, Yok and Zheng took the opportunity to escape while the Grunts killed the lesser Jackals.

"Coward!" Gagaw taunted, but Yok and Zheng were already gone.

"What now?" Nomnom asked.

"We go after them!" Zakap answered. Cheers went up from the Unggoy and the Mgalekgolo. After a second the two Sangheili joined in the thunderous roar.

The group went down the corridor where the two Kig-yar had fled through. The corridor curved through to the right and revealed a pair of Hunters fighting a swarm of Drones.

"There they are," Curlap pointed at Yok and Zheng. The pair slipped in-between the two Hunters and was out the door at the end of the corridor.

"Damn it, they're getting away!" Zakap yelled. Zakap halted his advance when he heard Deadside grumbling behind him. The Special Ops Grunt turned around.

"Okay okay. Come everyone, we gotta help the Mgalekgolo against those Yanme'e!"

Deadside let out a battle roar and opened up with his needler cannon. The Grunts followed suit with their plasma pistols and the Elites with their plasma rifles.

The Drones didn't stand a chance. The corridor was too narrow for effective evasive maneuvers and the bugs were soon shot down.

With the battle done, the two Hunters turned and talked with Deadside for a moment.

"Why were they fighting?" Yayap asked to no one in particular. The Hunters and Drones hadn't been apart of the previous Unggoy and Kig-yar fight. No one had an answer.

The Grunts moved ahead towards where Yok and Zheng had run off. Once through the door, they learned that it was a junction that had three separate doors the Kig-yar could have gone through.

"We never find them now," Gagaw complained.

"Maybe it doesn't matter," Yayap pointed. One of the doors was open and revealed a group of Grunts and Jackals fighting each other.

"Come on, we gotta go help," Curlap said.

If Yok or Zheng were in this fight, none of the Grunts could tell. It was too fast and messy to get a good look and it no longer mattered. There were new Kig-yar that needed killing.

Zakap straight up tackled a Jackal Major, pummeling the bird-like alien in the skull with his plasma pistol. Curlap turned on his camouflage and disappeared.

Yayap chose to overcharge his pistol and strip a Jackal Minor of his shield. Shield gone, the Kig-yar chose to run rather than fight. But the Jackal accidentally ran towards a Grunt Minor who shot him in the face.

Curlap reappeared again, having stabbed another Jackal in the back with his cutlass.

"Fond of that trick?" 'Balatee called out to the Unggoy Ultra.

"Yes," Curlap finished the kill.

Deadside and the other two Hunters had finally stomped into the new corridor, but the Jackals were already defeated by the time they brought up their cannons to fire.

The corridor emptied into a long hallway filled with supply crates. 'Kotoree took a carbine and 'Balatee took a beam rifle. Mehmep snatched a portable plasma cannon. Yayap, Gagaw, and Nomnom traded in for plasma pistols with full batteries while Zakap and Curlap took needlers.

A Grunt Deacon ran through the door on the far end of the hall. "They've gone mad! You must stop them!"

The Grunts hurried over. "What's happening?" Yayap asked.

"War."

"You best arm yourself Deacon," Zakap recommended. "For the Unggoy are slaves no more," Zakap raised his needler and rushed out, the others following.

The next area was an artificial valley with several Covenant koi ponds. Elites and Grunts fought against Brutes, Jackals and Drones.

As soon as Yayap and the others were visible they were fired upon. A few wild shots from Brute plasma rifles didn't hit anyone would couldn't take it. The Grunts quickly scampered down and took cover behind several large rocks.

'Balatee and 'Kotoree stayed up top, attacking with their ranged weapons. Their shields absorbed the few plasma bolts that managed to find them.

Deadside and the two Hunters focused on exterminating the Drones, preventing the flying insects from getting the drop on the Unggoy.

Yayap took a look from out of cover. It was clear that the Brutes were winning. From the time Yayap and the others had joined in on this particular battle, three Elites had fallen. Yayap saw why, the Jackals had the nasty habit of draining their shields with overcharged plasma pistol shots, allowing the Brutes to finish them off with spikers or Brute plasma rifles. The Grunts that weren't apart of Yayap's group weren't much help, most were fleeing to cover.

Mehmep made a bold move and moved in. He planted his plasma cannon and started shooting at the epicenter of the Brute pack. Curlap and Zakap moved in to assist him, needlers firing.

"Come on, this way," Yayap said to Gagaw and Nomnom. Yayap led Gagaw and Nomnom around a row of rocks and ponds until they came at some of the Jackals from the side.

The first one the Grunt trio shot went down before he knew what hit him. The second brought up his point defense gauntlet, but it couldn't stand up to their plasma weapons.

A Jackal sniper armed with a focus rifle turned to attack Yayap's group but was killed by a sniper shot from 'Balatee.

Gagaw and Nomnom both threw plasma grenades, killing a cluster of three Jackals that moved to stop them. Their final Kig-yar opponent was a Zealot, thought Yayap saw that it wasn't Yok. Their combined pistol fire took it down.

Now Yayap's team took to firing on the Brutes. Fighting Brutes was a scary thought but Yayap's fears dissipated when he witness how well they were doing.

Mehmep had gunned down several of the lower ranked Brutes and the combined needler explosions from Curlap and Zakap wiped out the stronger Jiralhanae.

The Drones were gone from the sky and the three Hunters turned their cannons on the Brutes as well.

The final Brute went down, but all the Elites, minus 'Kotoree and 'Balatee, had fallen as well.

Just as some of the panicking Grunts had started to settle down, a lance of Jump Pack Brutes came down from the sky. The Brutes landed in the spot where their comrades had been slaughtered, and they were killed with the same efficiency as those that had fallen before them.

"Not too smart are they?" Mehmep packed his portable plasma cannon back up.

The Prophet of Truth picked up his propaganda over the loudspeaker system. "Fear not, my brothers! The Sacred Icon is secure. It was Tartarus and his Brutes who took the Icon from the Flood, and for that they have our thanks."

Yayap's group entered into the next corridor. A small group of Elite Minors was being demolished by a combination of Brutes, Jackals and Drones. The newly arrived Grunts, Hunters, and Elites helped even out the fight.

"Down in front," Nomnom tossed a plasma grenade. It didn't stick anyone, but the splash damage threw a pair of Jackals off balance.

Spurred to action by the arrival of reinforcements, the Elite Minors recklessly charged at the Brutes, bringing about a melee fight. It only took the Elites a few seconds to lose, but the lapse in Brutes shooting provided the Grunts the time they needed to take care of the Jackals without worrying about being hit by grenades from Brute shots.

'Kotoree was able to use his carbine to great effect against the Drones. 'Balatee was able to snipe a Brute before the Elite Minors were wiped out.

Deadside and the Hunters took front and center once the Brutes turned their ranged weapons the Grunts' way. The explosions did nothing but harmlessly impact against the Hunters' sturdy shields. The Brutes had no real defense against the Hunters' cannons, be it from Deadside's needler cannon or the regular Hunters' fuel rod assault beams.

A blue-hued Drone managed to survive the fight and fled through the doors into yet another corridor.

"The Elites have failed to protect the Prophets, and in doing so, have put all our lives at risk. Let no warrior forget his oath, 'Thou, in faith, shall keep us safe, whilst we find the Path," Truth's broadcast fell upon deaf ears.

The next fight Yayap came across was the opposite of the last one. Elite Honor Guards were massacring Minor Brutes and Drones.

"Everybody duck," Gagaw threw a plasma grenade over the heads of his allies into the midst of the Brutes. One of the Brutes lost his leg to the blast. The others were bombarded by the Elite Honor Guards as they tried to regain their footing.

The Drones came down and started tearing at the Elites with their claws.

"Miserable vermin," an Honor Guard bashed in a Drone's skull.

One of the Drones managed to steal a plasma grenade right from an Honor Guard. The Yanme'e immediately activated the grenade and killed the Honor Guards in a suicidal explosion.

The Drones continued with their futile assault, shifting their rage on the Grunts. They were even foolish enough to challenge the Hunters.

Deadside crushed a Drone under his armored boot. Another Hunter used its shield to smash a Drone against the wall.

Even Yayap wrestled with a Drone. Yayap was greatly aided by the fact that Nomnom and Gagaw came up from behind his opponent and gabbed at its wings. The two Grunts pulled with all their might to rip the appendages off.

The Drone decided to disengage from Yayap and tried to fly away, but couldn't as the two Grunts weighed it down. The Drone came crashing back down to the floor. Yayap delivered a series of blows to the bug's head until it finally stopped moving.

A trio of Drones singled out Mehmep and lifted the Grunt Heavy into the air. One of them stole his type-42 plasma cannon. 'Kotoree shot one of the others holding the Grunt. The final Drone couldn't support the Grunt's weight on its on and dropped Mehmep.

The Grunt Heavy landed right on top of Deadside. The Special Ops Hunter paid no attention to his new passenger and shot the Drone with his needler cannon.

The Drone that had stolen the plasma cannon fled. 'Balatee tried to hit it with his beam rifle but missed.

"Give that back you Drone bastard," Mehmep slid off Deadside and pursued the thief.

Everyone followed Mehmep's example and chased after the sole surviving Drone.

"With my blessing, the Brutes now lead our fleets! They ask for your allegiance, and you shall give it."

The fleeing Drone led them to an open area. Several Elites and a pair of Hunters were fighting against Brutes, Jackals, and Drones. It had become crystal clear that the civil war had been divided along racial lines. The Elites, Hunters, and Grunts had rebelled against the Prophets and the loyal Brutes, Jackals, and Drones. What was not clear was which side the Engineers had taken.

Several sniper shots from a variety of weapons struck Deadside and the newly arrived Hunters. The Loyalists already had a pair of Hunters to deal with and were not happy that more had shown up.

A spike grenade was flung near Yayap. He dived out of the way as best he could. None of the razor sharp spikes hit him. Yayap let out a sigh of relief. He didn't understand why Brutes chose to use such weapons, the seemed to be designed more towards inflicting pain and suffering than outright death. Yayap would prefer to just kill his enemies and be done with it.

"Enemy grenade!" a Grunt yelled. This one was further from Yayap, yet one of the spikes whizzed right in front of his face. It was hard to tell what would happen with spike grenades going off.

Yayap overcharged his pistol and shorted out a Brute Captain's power armor. The Jiralhanae howled in anger and charged toward the Unggoy. But before he could close in, he was sniped by 'Balatee. The Elite Minor was very skilled with sniper weapons.

"Thanks," Yayap called out to the Elite. He did not want to seem ungrateful. He would want the Elite to save his life again if necessary.

A Spirit passed by overhead, but no one could tell which side it was on. It didn't really matter as the drop ship sped past the fight to a different destination. The turret didn't even fire on anyone.

The Drones were the last of the Loyalists to fall. Their ability to avoid enemy fire in during flight was an annoying trait.

"Now I know how humans feel," Yayap said.

"Trying to hit those buggers is a pain in the ass," Curlap agreed.

With their enemies dead, the ever-growing group of Covenant Separatists pressed onward, though no one was really sure of where they were going. Everyone just seemed to keep moving forward, hoping to kill as many of the opposing side as they could.

"Creatures of the Covenant! The path is broad, and we shall walk it side by side."

Yayap and the others came across a light bridge. Without a word, Yayap went first.

As the light bridge carried him along, a loud noise prompted Yayap to look up and to the left. He saw a human ship whiz by far overhead. It was not one of the humans' larger cruisers but it seemed to be a bad omen nonetheless. _Poor fools don't even realize they don't have to come here; we're killing each other_. Yayap assumed the ship was carrying humans, what else would it be holding?

"Be glad! A reward for all your toil and all of your sacrifices in the year at hand," Truth continued his convoluted dribble as the human cruiser disappeared from view.

As soon as the light bridge finished taking Yayap to the other side, he was faced with a Jackal Zealot staring him down. The Kig-yar held a spiker, a weapon whose effects Yayap didn't care to feel.

Before the Jackal could fire, he was filled with pink needles and exploded. The attack came from behind.

Two Special Ops Grunts wielding needlers came up to greet Yayap. Two Elite Minors wielding plasma rifles followed behind them. An odd combination, but the sudden civil war didn't allow for all formal squads to be formed. Everyone took their allies as they saw them.

The small group of Separatists cheered as they saw Yayap's horde of friendlies cross the light bridge.

The celebration was cut short as a pair of Minor Brutes came up from behind the Minor Elites. A pair of Jackal snipers came in from the right.

Even with Yayap's warning, the Brutes still got the jump on the two Elites. But the Brutes were inexperienced; they divided their fire and were not able to bring down either Elite quickly.

The Brutes were lucky in that their Elite opponents were likewise inept.

Yayap and the two Special Ops Grunts were quick to kill the two Jackal snipers, who proved to be terrible shots with their beam rifles. The three Special Ops Unggoy targeted one Jackal until he went down. The other dropped his beam rifle and ran for his life, only to be shot in the back.

When the Special Ops Grunts turned back to the other fight, they saw that the Brute Minors had won out over the Elite Minors.

Curlap, Zakap, Mehmep, Gagaw, and Nomnom had crossed the light bridge and helped bring down the two Brutes. By the time Deadside and the others made it all the way across the bridge the two Jiralhanae were already dead.

"It appears experience outranks everything," 'Kotoree observed.

"Damn right!" Zakap huffed.

With their two new Grunt allies, the Separatists pushed forward towards a hanging garden. Here, a large group of Honor Guard Elites fought against Honor Guard Brutes. Ceremonial staves lay abandoned all over the ground in favor of ranged weapons.

'Balatee claimed a headshot on a Brute, but the Honor Guard helmet prevented a kill. "My battery's running low," the Elite declared.

"Then why don't you join us in rushing the enemy? Nomnom asked.

The Grunts and Hunters came charging in first but by the time they reached the fight; almost all the Honor Guardsmen had killed each other.

Hunter assault beams shredded a Brute who managed to survive.

"This is getting too easy," Gagaw declared. As if to prove the Grunt Major wrong, a herd of Jackals poured through from the opposite end of the garden.

"You just had to say something," Mehmep fired a plasma pistol. The Grunt Heavy never did recover his portable plasma cannon.

Upon seeing the numbers of their enemies, the Jackals turned around and beat a hasty retreat.

"See?" Gagaw chased after them. "Easy."

Plasma and needle fire brought down a few fleeing Jackals. A panicked Jackal Minor leapt off the far ledge and fell down to his death.

The fighting stopped as the Separatists came across another light bridge. The Jackals that survived the slaughter were quick to cross, and the Separatists hesitated, knowing a counterattack would be ready when they made it to the other side.

Deadside crossed the bridge first. A pair of Brute Majors was crossing over from the opposite side at the same time. The poor Brutes had nowhere to go and were shoved off into the depths of oblivion once they collided with the Special Ops Hunter.

"At this moment, the Council is gathered on Halo, to see the Icon secured," Truth spoke.

Deadside looked around, the Jackals were nowhere to be found. They had run off completely, which would explain why the Brutes had foolishly crossed over the light bridge. The Jackals hadn't bothered to warn their allies that an enemy army was chasing them.

This time Tartarus was on the loudspeaker. "Rise, up my brothers! Cast down the Elites!"

Once everyone crossed over the bridge, the Separatist squad pushed forward into the next area. "There are those who said this day would never come. What have they to say now?" Truth asked over the loudspeaker.

The group rushed through another empty hallway into a vicious fight in the next room.

"Once the towers are clear, we'll drive them from the lower district," Tartarus again.

A large swarm of Drones were annihilating a group of Stealth Elites.

"Whoa!" A collection of plasma bolts pinged against Mehmep's green armor. Gagaw and Zakap suffered a few hits as well. Even Deadside was forced to bring up his shield for protection. Overcharged bolts found their way to 'Balatee and 'Kotoree.

"Why do they fight so effectively?" 'Kotoree took cover.

"There," Curlap pointed. "The red one. A leader."

Deadside exploded the red Drone with his needler cannon. The other Drones swarmed angrily around the Special Ops Hunter, but were unable to inflict real damage.

"See, they fighting stupid now," Curlap said in between killing low flying Drones. A blue Drone came at Curlap, but the Ultra Grunt stabbed it with his cutlass. The Drone pulled back up, taking the melee weapon with it. After a moment, the embedded cutlass exploded, raining down blood and crispy Drone bits.

Within a short time, Yanme'e blood had soaked the entire area. The Separatists pushed on toward the door on the far side of the room. Through the door they came across yet another light bridge.

Once again, Yayap decided to cross the light bridge first. The opposite tower was filled littered with deployable cover. Two Heavy Grunts trained plasma cannons on the newcomers.

Yayap and the others halted their advance, not wanting to irritate the gunners.

"Finally!" A gruff looking Grunt Ultra came out from behind cover. He was missing his left eye. "Some allies. Things weren't going so well for a while."

Yayap noticed a few Loyalist and Separatist corpses strung about.

"The rest of my team went on ahead, but I lost contact with them," the Grunt Ultra explained once all the Covenant Separatist had made it across the light bridge. "Constant attacks have kept us stationed at this position. You're the first friendlies to come across that bridge in a long time."

"Impressive that you held out so long," 'Kotoree commented.

The Grunt Ultra nodded, accepting the compliment. "I assume you're pushing onward?"

"Of course," Curlap replied. "We'll keep an eye out for your troops," Curlap's choice of words was poor considering the other Unggoy only had one eye. Neither Grunt seemed to catch it though.

"Might I ask if you could spare a few soldiers before you go," the Ultra added as they started to walk through the maze of deployable cover. "As you can see, I'm shorthanded at the moment."

All of the Hunters Yayap's squad had acquired and most of the lower ranking Grunts stayed behind while the others pushed on. It was no real loss, they had accumulated so many allies that not everyone was getting a chance to fight in the cramped environments they were traversing.

"I have listened to the Oracle, and it confirmed our deepest hope. The Great Journey begins with Halo."

Yayap felt a sudden surge of sadness. _All this fighting for what?_ The Great Journey was right at smack in front of them. No one in else in the history of the Covenant had been so close to achieving their goal. And yet now no one seemed to care about the Great Journey at all.

"The Elites are falling back to the Mausoleum. Fools! Their Arbiter can do nothing for them now!"

"Who would doubt the Prophets? What have they foretold that has not come to pass?"

Yayap's squad came across fleeing Grunts. All of them were Minors.

"Looks like we found them," Nomnom said. There were plenty of Elite corpses lying around.

It was soon revealed that the Unggoy were running for their lives, rather than mindlessly panicking. A pair of berserking Brutes were chasing them. It was apparent that the Loyalists won whatever fight had occurred here.

The Grunts fired, drawing the attention of the two Brutes. The raging Jiralhanae came barreling down on the Grunts who dared fire upon them.

Deadside got in the way, smashing one of the Brutes clear off of the platform to the depths below. The other was killed by 'Kotoree's carbine.

With the Brutes dead, the panicking Grunts calmed down. 'Balatee exchanged his near-empty beam rifle for a dead Elite's plasma rifle.

"Back toward your leader," 'Kotoree pointed from where they had come. The group of Grunt Minors was only too happy to comply with the order.

Zakap started pulling ahead of the others.

"Wait up," Gagaw tried to keep up.

"We gotta hurry. More may need our help," the Special Ops Unggoy kept up his swift pace.

However, there was no one left and they reached yet another light bridge.

"Great," Zakap whined.

"What's wrong?" Nomnom asked.

"We can't all cross the bridge."

"Why?"

"If we leave, the others may be ambushed from behind. Someone has to stay and guard this bridge."

Yayap suspicions were correct. Zakap was indeed highly intelligent. The Grunt was either putting on a show most of the time or honestly believed that he wasn't smart.

"We'll stay and guard," one of the Special Ops Grunts volunteered.

"Right, be careful," Zakap stepped onto the light bridge and was carried over. Yayap and the others followed suit, leaving behind the two Special Ops Grunts they had acquired.

The purple door opened and revealed a long, empty hall. There were several supply cases and plasma batteries scattered about and the Separatists took to refilling their armaments.

Before everyone could finish, a trio of Brutes burst in from the opposite end of the hall. A Minor, a Major, and an Ultra. All three had Brute shots.

A hailstorm of grenades started soaring their way. The Separatists ducked, dived, or ran for what little cover their was. The Brutes kept the pressure up. No one was able to shoot back effectively.

Yayap had managed to get behind a supply case. He peered around the corner and noticed the Brutes were steadily advancing. Sooner or later they were going to score a kill. Yayap was determined not to let that happen.

Yayap noticed the Brutes were passing by a plasma battery. He only had one shot before they were out of range. Yayap fired his plasma pistol, struck the battery and the three Brutes were engulfed in the ensuing explosion.

Only the Brute Ultra survived. In a stated of rage, the Brute dropped his weapon and charged towards Yayap, but was needled to death by Zakap and Deadside.

The hall emptied out into an open-air elaborate rocky basin. The fighting here was much different, much deadlier. Special Forces from both sides were having at it. Special Ops Jackals and Brute Stalkers were pitted against Special Ops Grunts, Hunters, and Elites. Everyone seemed to be dressed in black armor, save for a few of the newcomers.

The Brute Stalkers greeted the newcomers with incendiary grenades. No one got hit but the burning fire kept Yayap and his friends from entering the fight for a few more seconds.

During the pause, Yayap picked up an abandoned needler and Zakap took a purple fuel rod gun.

The Special Ops Separatists didn't seem to need the help though. A Grunt had a type-33 fuel rod cannon and was able to kill half of the Jackals on his own. The other Grunts used teams of plasma pistols and needlers to hold off the other Jackals.

The Elites weren't doing as well. Two Brute Stalkers kept rushing in and blowing them away with Maulers. Most of the Elites had either plasma rifles or needle rifles and neither could drop the Brutes in time.

Yayap and the others were finally able to get through. They charged forward. Several of the Loyalists engaged their active camouflage.

Nomnom randomly fired his plasma pistol, actually hitting a Jackal and revealing his position. Gagaw and Mehmep helped shoot the Jackal dead before it could disappear again.

An incendiary grenade found itself in the middle of two Special Ops Hunters. The monstrous soldiers cried out in pain, but survived the attack. One had a carbine cannon and fired where he thought the grenade had come from. The Special Ops Hunter was awarded by the cry of a dying Brute Stalker.

The Jiralhanae and Kig-yar seemed to have reached their breaking point for stealth, and almost at the exact same time, they all revealed themselves and went back to fighting in force.

Curlap grabbed a plasma rifle off of a dead Elite; he immediately swung the weapon around and put a few rounds into an approaching Jackal. The sturdy black point defense gauntlet stayed intact, but the Jackal dropped dead when Mehmep shot him in the back.

Another Kig-yar sought to punish Mehmep but was blindsided by Deadside before the Grunt Heavy was even attacked.

Zakap and the other Special Ops Grunt both hit the same Brute with their fuel rod weapons at the same time.

The Special Ops Loyalists numbers dropped down to a single Brute Stalker, who went into and rage and was killed by one of the Hunter's assault beams.

"That was a fight," Gagaw grabbed a Brute plasma rifle off of a dead Stalker.

"Me alive, me happy," Nomnom fell on his ass.

"Come on, we gotta keep moving," Yayap urged on his friends.

The next hallway was severely damaged, parts of the walls had been blown off and smoking hot debris was everywhere. Yet there were no bodies. "The Special Ops fight must have come through here," Curlap tried to offer an explanation as to the lack of corpses.

The next room was small. An Elite Major and two Elite Minors were fending off a file of Jackals. One shot from the fuel rod gun and Zakap had taken out all but two of their enemies.

Unfortunately, the two Jackal Majors were reinforced by a group of Drones. Some of the Drones even used plasma rifles.

"The bugs are getting more dangerous," Mehmep said. The Drones managed to kill the two Elite Minors and focus rifle killed the Major.

No one had even seen the Jackal Sniper hiding off in a corner. 'Kotoree sent a plasma grenade flying the Jackal's way.

Even with better weaponry, the Drones were still easy enough to kill in the enclosed space.

Afterwards, it was revealed that the small room had led to a large bridge. A Gold Hunter and Red Hunter were at the center of the bridge defending from Jackals and Brutes at both ends of the overpass.

The Loyalists on their side had not noticed their advance. 'Balatee snuck up behind a Jackal and snapped his neck. He then took the now dead Jackal's needle rifle.

Yayap filled a Brute Minor full of needles and sent the Jiralhanae flying off the bridge with the super explosion. Deadside did the same with a Brute Captain Major.

The other Loyalists turned around but were pounded by Zakap's fuel rod gun.

Drones flew in from the sides to attack the Hunters at the center of the bridge. In a more open environment, the fliers were much harder to hit but eventually went down.

When the bridge was finally cleared of enemies the Separatists continued onward.

The bridge emptied out onto a large drop ship landing zone. A gravity lift was in the middle of the area. There were no parked Spirits or Phantoms present. Something seemed off.

A Brute Captain Major approached the advancing Separatists. He kept his spiker clipped to his belt. Apparently the Brute had yet to get the memo about the civil war.

"By order of the Prophets, I am to take charge of this area," the Brute declared.

"By order of myself, I am gonna kick your ass!" Zakap shouted before attacking.

Nearby Jackals swarmed in to stop the Grunts. "Heretics," Some of the Kig-yar hissed.

Nomnom saw what they were fighting to protect. "Over there!"

A San 'Shyuum was trying to run away. His normally regal looking red robes were slightly tattered and torn. What had happened to his gravity throne no one knew.

"Yayap! Don't let him get away!" Zakap fought off the Jackals. Curlap tried to shoot through the Jackals but couldn't burn through their shields fast enough.

Even Deadside and the Hunters could not kill the Kig-yar fast enough.

Yayap circled around the Jackals entirely and blocked the Prophet's escape. "You dare stand against the Prophets? Foolish Unggoy, you're denying yourself the Great Journey."

"I got your Great Journey right here bitch!" Yayap filled the Prophet full of needles until he exploded. Yayap couldn't believe what he had just done, or that it felt so right. All his life he would have never guessed he'd end up killing a San 'Shyuum.

After the Prophet's death an Ultra Elite, Elite General, and Elite Zealot entered the area from an opposite door. A Brute Chieftain, War Chieftain and a large pack of Brutes came out from another doorway.

All of a sudden, Yayap felt completely rejuvenated and refreshed for the new fight. It was almost as if some epic battle music had started playing in the background.

From a fairly long distance, Yayap tossed a plasma grenade. It stuck a Brute crowded near his allies. The singular explosion blew away a total of three Brutes. Zakap also tried tossing a grenade, but only manage to kill a single Jiralhanae.

Mehmep manned an empty Shade turret and started firing. Drones started swarming around, taking potshots with plasma pistols.

The Brute Chieftain managed to stick the Elite Zealot with a spike grenade. The Elite's powerful shields ensured it survived the blast. The Zealot discarded his concussion rifle and drew his energy sword. He dashed in at the Chieftain. The Brute brought his hammer down, shattering the Elite's helmet and skull.

A Brute Captain managed to bombard the Elite General with enough Brute shots that the Sangheili lost his shields and then his life.

Another door opened, revealing three Special Ops Grunts, a Grunt Heavy and two Hunters. Two of the Special Ops had plasma pistols while the third had a needler. The Heavy had a fuel rod cannon. They were virtually ignored by the Brutes and swept in from the side.

The new group was able to score several kills before the Brutes even took notice of them. The Hunters held their position and fired their deadly assault beams. The Grunts weaved side to side to avoid being shot.

A new swarm of Drones flew in to replace the ones who had been killed. The Brutes likewise received a few reinforcements.

Curlap picked up another plasma rifle and duel wielded the type-25 directed energy weapons. He was able to kill three Drones in quick succession. Several Yanme'e shot back but Curlap hopped around while firing back.

The Ultra Elite's plasma repeater overheated shooting at the Jiralhanae. While he was cooling the weapon down, a Jackal hit him with an overcharged shot. The Elite was then killed by a carbine shot from a Brute Major.

Snee 'Balatee killed the Brute War Chieftain with a supercombine explosion from his needle rifle.

'Kotoree took the energy sword off the dead Elite Zealot. The red Elite gave a thunderous roar, drawing the attention of the Brute Chieftain.

"You want some too?" The Brute charged in with his hammer. 'Kotoree was faster and struck at the Jiralhanae's side. The Chieftain staggered but didn't go down. He brought up his hammer and swung hard, but 'Kotoree backed up. The hammer smashed into the floor. Before the Brute could bring it up again 'Kotoree slashed the Brute with his sword.

Nomnom snuck up behind a Jackal Sniper but found that his pistol's battery was depleted when he tried to shoot. "Damn."

The Jackal turned around but Nomnom dashed up and grabbed the beam rifle. The pair fought over the weapon, but neither was able to pry it away from the other.

A Brute Minor went berserk and charged at Deadside. The Jiralhanae was able to catch the Hunter before he could swing his massive shield. The Brute kept chipping away at Deadside with short, swift jabs, constantly stunning the Mgalekgolo and preventing him from fighting back.

"Somebody help! I can't get a clear shot!" Zakap didn't want to risk hitting his brother with his fuel rod gun.

Yayap saw what was happening and ran up a ramp. He ran as fast as his stubby legs would allow him, running past several fighting enemies and allies. As Yayap ran past Nomnom, in pushed the Jackal, who fell over. Nomnom clumsily leveled the beam rifle and managed to shoot his Kig-yar opponent in the leg.

Yayap put forth all his energy into a mighty leap and landed on top of the berserking Brute. He plunged the pointy side of his needler deep into the side of the Brute's face.

Yayap pulled the needler out and struck him again, and again. The Brute stopped attacking Deadside and thrashed about, trying to shake off Yayap. He held on for dear life.

During a brief lapse in the Brute's squirming, Yayap hit him again, finally breaking his helmet. Yayap then struck the Brute a final time, the needler stuck on the Brute's bloody face.

Yayap leaped off as the Brute started to thrash about again. Realizing the Grunt was finally off the Brute stopped and pulled the needler from his face. The Brute was about to aim the needler at Yayap but stopped and turned the weapon towards the angry Special Ops Hunter he was previously fighting.

The Jiralhanae fired, but the needles did nothing against the Hunter's near impenetrable armor. Deadside gave a mighty swing, breaking the Brute's spine and sending him flying.

Deadside guarded Yayap until he could find another weapon. Yayap ended up grabbing a plasma repeater from a dead Elite Ultra.

The sky was free of Drones now. 'Balatee, 'Kotoree and the various Hunters were finishing up what was left of the Brutes. The few remaining Jackals started to panic and were easy targets for the Grunts.

"The gravity lift!" Gagaw fired his stolen Brute plasma rifle at Skirmishers as they descended down the lift in the center of the area. Mehmep focused the Shade on the gravity lift.

The Skirmishers were dying before they even reached the ground. A grand total of ten died this way before the gravity lift turned silent.

Two Brute Honor Guards and a War Chieftain arrived late to the fight. They were the only living Loyalists in the immediate vicinity. All the Separatists targeted the trio and the Brutes were dead with a heartbeat.

"We win! We win!" Nomnom cheered.

"Get up so I can kill you again!" Gagaw shot at a Brute corpse.

Zakap walked up to Yayap. "That was amazing! You showed that Brute what a Grunt can do!"

"Yeah, I just hope I don't have to do it again."


	8. Floodbait

**Chapter 8: Floodbait **

An Elite Honor Guard, energy stave in hand, roared a challenge and charged. Natarus lowered his spikers; he wouldn't need them for just one overconfident Sangheili.

Natarus grabbed the stave as it was thrust at him. He pried it away from the Sangheili and swatted him against the wall (an easy task as Natarus was physically stronger). The Brute then shoved the stave straight into the Elite's throat. "What's that? I can no longer hear the sound of your boasting," Natarus laughed as the Honor Guard made a series of bloody gurgling sounds before dying. The Brute Captain Ultra continued onward.

The hall was devoid of the sounds of plasma fire but was filled with the smell of death. His senses assured Natarus that there were no enemies left alive, yet the Brute still kept his one of his spikers held at the ready.

The further he went, the stronger the scent was. Eventually Natarus came upon a room filled with Sangheili corpses. Purple blood stained the floors, walls, and even the ceiling. Among the scores of dead Elites was his pack, alive and well.

"Don't eat that, you'll catch its heresy," Moartorus scolded one of the Jiralhanae.

"But its flesh is singed just the way I like it."

"Natarus!" Brutus exclaimed when he saw his leader approach. "Good to see you. How has the hunting been?"

"I have not scored as many kills as you have it would seem. But we should move on, we have more Sangheili to kill."

"Of course."

"We're running low on ammo and I hate using these weak Elite plasma rifles," Moartorus complained as he shook the purple gun.

"Enjoy the challenge while it lasts. We will have fully loaded Jiralhanae weapons soon enough. Not that'd we'd even need them against these pitiful Sangheili." Some of the Jiralhanae laughed.

* * *

"I think we should head toward the lower districts," Yayap said.

"Eh?" Nomnom didn't get it. "What for?"

"That is where our kin will be most numerous," Yayap explained. "We will have a better chance at survival."

"Yes, good idea," Curlap agreed.

"Very well," 'Kotoree quietly muttered. No one paid the Elite Major any attention; he was far from being the one in charge.

Right as the Unggoy began their march they were halted by the sound of engines overhead. They were not the sounds from Banshees or Spirits or Phantoms, but from human ships. The Covenant paused and looked up to see what was going on.

Several Pelicans had exited from the crashed human frigate, one of them crashing near Yayap's group. Much to their horror, Flood combat forms spilled out the second it smashed across the ground.

"Parasites!"

"Look out!"

Combat and infection forms skittered around everywhere, some attacking the Covenant and others leaving to find other prey.

A human combat form soared through the air, only to be repelled by Deadside before it could reach Gagaw.

Yayap was able to kill several infection forms on his own. He then went to assist the two Elites in dealing with a Brute combat form.

The Flood could not have come at a worse time. The Covenant had self-destructed and the Parasite was sweeping through the tattered remnants. There were more than enough corpses to infect, and not enough living soldiers to stop the spread of the infection.

Nomnom blew up two carrier forms with one well-placed plasma grenade. However, the deaths of the bloated carriers unleashed a new horde of scurrying infection forms.

"Pop the small ones before they infect the corpses!" Curlap yelled. Easier said than done. It was difficult to focus on the infection forms with combat ones running up at you.

As soon as the first wave of combat forms was dealt with, a new one was born when the infection forms infected the various corpses lying about battlefield.

"Where did they come from?"

"They must have took the humans' stuff that was on the Ring," Curlap said.

"Stupid humans!" Zakap whined. "They ruin everything!"

After a few tense moments of fighting, the Flood was finally beaten back.

"We need to move!" Curlap shouted.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Gagaw was already going.

"Where are we going? Are we still going to the lower districts?" Mehmep asked.

"No, we need to evacuate," 'Kotoree cut in.

"This is not a fight we will be able to win," 'Balatee added.

The squad stopped in their tracks when they came across a Flood. It was no ordinary Flood. A gigantic Flood form towering at about eighteen feet tall. Two long tentacles connected to a body that resembled a hardened carrier form. But unlike the stubby legs of the carrier forms, this one had two long legs. A Flood juggernaut.

"Aw crap," Mehmep muttered in his mask.

The Covenant soldiers wasted no time in shooting the monstrosity, but nothing was having much effect.

Gagaw held down the trigger on his rifle and sprayed the monster with a stream of red plasma until his weapon overheated. Gagaw's enthusiasm was soon rewarded as a clawed tentacle came down at him, but the Grunt Major belly-flopped out of the way just in time.

Deadside tried to charge the juggernaut, but the Flood seized the Hunter in one tentacle and threw him like a rag doll. Nomnom had to dive out of the way to avoid being crushed when Deadside landed.

Curlap noticed a nearby Elite corpse. The Grunt Ultra went over and took the weapon the Sangheili was holding. The weapon was a plasma launcher. Curlap charged the launcher to full capacity. "Eat this you son of a Jackal!" Four blue plasma grenade-like bolts stuck to the body of the juggernaut and detonated. The body cracked, and another round from the plasma launcher finished the Flood juggernaut for good.

Past the juggernaut they entered a great hall. A vast array of Covenant soldiers was fighting off the Flood; the previous civil war had been forgotten. Grunts, Hunters and Elites were once again fighting alongside Drones, Jackals and Brutes.

'Kotoree and 'Balatee overturned a flipped Shade turret and let Mehmep go to work against Flood that were descending down the tall walls.

The Prophet of Truth continued his dialogue over the loudspeaker. "Shall we let the Flood consume our holy city? Turn High Charity into another one of their wretched hives? No enemy has ever withstood our might. The Flood too shall fail."

"Doesn't that pompous ass ever shut up?" Curlap complained.

The Flood was being beaten back at every corner, yet their numbers seemed inexhaustible. Slowly, the Covenant was pushed out of the great hall.

* * *

"Wretched parasite!" Brutus exclaimed.

"Where did they come from?" Moartorus asked.

"It doesn't matter. They will die all the same," Natarus cut down a Flood combat form. Natarus had distinctly noticed that the majority of the combat forms that had attacked so far were derived from Sangheili hosts.

Natarus' Jiralhanae were in for the fight of their lives. Flood were crawling out of every corner and shadow, and there were a lot of shadows giving that the many of the lights on High Charity were starting to fails.

The Brute Stalkers were practical in their attacks, using active camouflage when it suited them and striking when their enemies' back was turned. The Flood seemed to be guided by sight, yet had no apparently had no eyes. With his Brutes constantly winking in and out of sight, Natarus was a popular target for the Flood, if only because he didn't suddenly disappear.

The Brute Captain Ultra spiked another two Elite combat forms into submission. "This is worthless. They'll infect everyone on High Charity."

"What are you saying?" Brutus stomped on an infection form.

"We must evacuate. We won't have enough ammo to kill them all." As if to drive home the point, Natarus had just then run out of ammo for both of his spikers. He was able to toss his last spike grenade before being tackled by an Elite combat form wielding a gravity hammer.

Natarus threw the Flood off him and snatched away the gravity hammer, turning the weapon on its former owner. "Why was an Elite Flood wielding a gravity hammer?"

"Perhaps the parasite has raided the armory. I doubt a Sangheili could have killed a Jiralhanae and taken it," Moartorus answered his leader. To be sure, it was curious, but how the Elite combat form got a hold of a gravity hammer really wasn't relevant to the Brutes' survival, especially since Natarus now had it.

* * *

The air was getting thick and dirty in the corridors of High Charity.

Occasionally a hidden Flood jumped out to scare Yayap and the Unggoy. But the Flood attackers were always brought down by the combined fire of the Grunts.

They had passed many other pockets of Covenant survivors. Most were Brutes, Jackals or Drones. It had become perfectly clear that the Loyalists had won the civil war before the Flood showed up. There were a few Unggoy scattered among the survivors, but Yayap attributed this to the Grunts' numbers. With so many soldiers, it was likely some to have survived the previous battle, even if the Unggoy were the weakest fighters. Given the circumstances, the victors were quick to forgive the defeated, if only because the needed as many able-bodied troops to fight the Flood as possible.

Despite the truce, all Unggoy they came across left their current squads and joined up with the large Grunt-dominated group.

"The parasite did not defeat the Forerunners…and it shall not defeat us," Truth tried to reinvigorate the Covenant. Drones dizzyingly tried to avoid combat forms as the monstrous abomination leaped up through the sky to swat at them.

"Arrogant creature! Your death will be instantaneous, while we shall suffer the progress of infinitude!" No one knew who the second voice was.

"Whoever is gripped by fear, take heed. I am the Prophet of Truth… And I am not afraid."

"Cause you're not fighting," Yayap interrupted the broadcast.

"Noble Mercy is here at my side. His wise counsel ever in my ears."

"We exist together now, two corpses in one grave," the strange voice spoke again. They defeated the Flood in the immediate area and pressed forward.

Yayap could have sworn he heard someone whisper something to him, but he didn't catch what it was. He turned around, but there was nothing but darkness and the faint glow of abandoned Covenant weapons. The voice perplexed him, it had almost sounded human, but there was nothing there. Yayap turned back to follow with the others, he didn't want to get separated from the group.

The next room was heavily defended by a group of Brutes and a few Jackals. A pair of Grunts, one Minor and one Major, were outside the protective perimeter. They had been apparently been forced to fend for themselves for taking part in the civil war.

They Unggoy pair gratefully joined up with the Grunt group as more Flood emerged from the shadows. Several Flood stalkers were morphing into Flood tanks, and the Grunts used to opportunity to continue onward, leaving the Brutes and Jackals to fight the majority of the Flood attackers. Yayap, the Grunts, and Deadside had no qualms about leaving this particular batch of Brutes to their fate; they weren't exactly kind to the two Grunts. The two Elites were only too happy not to help their rivals.

* * *

They had finally reached the landing pads.

"We've got to get to the drop ships!"

"This crisis will not be the end of us. It is but one last hurdle before the journey of salvation!"

"Bout time you guys showed up. We were thinking of leaving you." The Grunt Ultra that was missing an eye had led the other Unggoy they had left behind during the civil war had also made it to the parked Phantoms. Yayap was glad his squad wasn't the only one that made it.

A few infection and carrier forms tried to attack before they reached the Phantoms. The Covenant soldiers were numerous now, and the few Flood didn't stand a chance.

"Now is the time of our unworlding, in a moment we shall all become…as gods."

As far as Yayap could tell, everyone was still mortal.

A trio of combat forms appeared, but evaporated into nothingness almost as quickly as they had appeared.

They Unggoy and their allies quickly saw why the Flood had evaporated into dust. Natarus was standing their, holding a gravity hammer. His Brute Stalkers deactivated their camouflage, revealing their varied positions about the landing pads.

Yayap couldn't believe that they would run into Natarus again.

"We did not come to fight," Natarus stated. He lowered his hammer and held a neutral stance, trying to show he would not attack.

"Neither did we," Yayap quickly chirped. Yayap really didn't want to be the spokesman for his group, he just blurted out something before 'Kotoree or 'Balatee could say something that might provoke the Brutes to attack.

"There are enough transports for all," Curlap added over the quiet grumblings of the two Sangheili. It was clear the Elites weren't happy about the truce.

"I must admit, I never expected to see any of you alive again," Natarus said.

"Right back at ya, Natarus," Zakap exclaimed.

"Have you seen Yok? I wish death upon him."

"No, he got away. We couldn't find him again," Yayap answered.

"I wished to have ended that Jackal's life myself. I can only hope that the Flood has caught him."

"If not, I'm sure you'll get a chance," Yayap offered. The two sides had bonded slightly over the shared hatred of the Jackal Zealot.

The party was abruptly cut short when a Flood juggernaut crashed to the floor. No one had seen or heard it coming. It was had made a mighty leap from somewhere.

This Flood juggernaut was different; it had two gravity hammers embedded at the end of its tentacles.

"We must work together to bring this abomination down," Natarus raised his gravity hammer.

"Agreed," Yayap wouldn't want to fight the juggernaut without the aid of Natarus and his Brutes anyway. Though part of Yayap would have rather just run to the Phantoms.

A few infection and combat forms dropped from the ceiling to support the outnumbered juggernaut. Everyone took a target and started fighting. Natarus, of course, went after the juggernaut.

The Brute swung his gravity hammer, and the juggernaut did the same. The two hammers made contact with equal force and knocked their wielders back. Natarus didn't take the blow as well as the Flood did, but he kept up fighting it anyway.

A Flooded Unggoy charged into Yayap, but was killed by Zakap before it could do any damage. Yayap took the cutlass the fallen Flood was holding.

"I could use some assistance," Natarus no longer kept his aura of overindulgent self-confidence.

Yayap rushed over to help the Brute. The hammers made contact again, and Yayap made his move. He dashed toward the massive Flood as fast as his feet would take him.

Yayap sliced the juggernaut at the right shin. The large monster fell but caught itself with its arm, using it as a new leg. This left only the left arm for attacking.

Acknowledging the opportunity Yayap gave him, Natarus charged in, dodged the single attacking arm, and smashed the juggernaut square in the body.

The powerful Flood staggered back but was not defeated. Those most of its supporting Flood were. Now almost all the Brutes and Grunts concentrated fire on the juggernaut, bringing it down for good.

"Go, go, go! Get to those ships!" Curlap demanded.

"If you will falter, know this…one final effort is all that remains."

The Grunts and their allies parted way with Natarus and his pack. The survivors pilled into the Spirits and Phantoms and wasted no time in taking off. Once in the air they were relatively safe, and had a decent view of the carnage below.

"We need to get to the fleet," 'Kotoree stated.

"No," Yayap blurted out.

"What? You challenge me?"

"No. We need to go back down to the Sacred Ring. The ships are all destroying each other. Docking with one will just ensure our death."

"What about the parasite?" Mehmep asked. "They're still on the Ring. It would be no different than staying here."

"No, there are more Flood here than on the Ring. No more places to hide on High Charity. We must go to the Ring and wait out the battle in space."

"I agree," Curlap supported Yayap. "There's no better plan."

"Very well," 'Kotoree conceded.

"There may still be Jiralhanae to fight on the Ring," 'Balatee added.

Yayap dreaded the thought of continuing the civil war. It made no sense, shouldn't they all get along for the sake of destroying the Flood? They had just been working with the Brutes seconds ago, yet once the imminent danger of the Flood had passed; the Elites were already itching to restart the civil war.

The Loyalist and Separatist Phantoms and Spirits parted ways with the Loyalists heading towards space battle and the Separatists heading down to the Sacred Ring.


	9. Oh, So That's How it Is

**Chapter 9: Oh, So That's How it Is**

Yayap wasn't going to die; he had gone through too much to lose now.

"If I ever fight on a sacred site again it will be too soon!" Yayap declared. "It's always too soon." The Spirits and Phantoms abandoned High Charity and went down toward Installation 05. The various Covenant drop ships had no problem avoiding the cruisers and Seraph fighters that fought with each other.

It was only when they had reached the atmosphere of the Sacred Ring that they encountered trouble. The Phantom carrying Yayap and the other Unggoy attracted the attention of a Vampire. The Covenant Vampire was a V-shaped air unit designed to shoot down other aircraft. Vampires' primary weapon was a heavy needler turret on top of the craft. They also had a plasma turret on each wing and a stasis generator for freezing enemy air units.

The Separatists had no idea if the Vampire was loyalist or not, or whether it new the affiliation of the ship it was attacking. Or the Vampire could have been stolen by humans or the Flood for all the Grunts knew.

A pair of Banshees flew up and attacked the Vampire. The anti-air aircraft turned its attention away from the transports. The first Banshee blew up in a spectacular, pink blast after the Vampire hit it with its needler turret. The Vampire's starboard-side plasma turret grazed the second Banshee, causing the smaller air unit to spiral out of control and smash into its opponent. Then the Vampire lost control and came spinning down towards the Sacred Ring.

The Grunts had no idea what side to root for, but the important part was that they were safe, and faced no further threat as they landed. They put down in the jungle area of a mountain that was near a beach.

"What are we doing here?" Zakap demanded as they got out.

"The jungle will conceal our presence," 'Kotoree explained.

"You coward. We fought off wave after wave of the Flood. The Jiralhanae don't scare me," Zakap answered.

"Hopefully they won't be our enemies any longer," Yayap told Zakap. "The Flood are a bigger problem that no one can ignore."

"Oh, I think they're ignoring it," Curlap pointed.

Ahead they could see corpses of Unggoy and Sangheili thrown about the jungle floor.

"What the?" 'Balatee went to inspect the corpses. Everyone else followed. Yayap felt a wave a sadness wash over him.

"Check for survivors," Curlap instructed.

After a few minutes of checking around the graveyard it was clear that no one was alive. There was blue and purple blood everywhere. Many of the Sangheili were badly cut and/or missing limbs, clearly the work of the brute shot's blade. There were no Jiralhanae bodies anyone could find. The Loyalists must have seriously kicked ass in the battle. The smell of death was unbearable. Even with their masks, the Unggoy got a full blast of the stench.

"I'm gonna be sick," Nomnom avoided puking in his mask.

The group heard movement up ahead. Curlap motioned for everyone to stay back and silently pointed out the Special Ops troopers to follow him. Yayap, Zakap, and Deadside followed the Grunt Ultra, and they all activated their active camouflage.

The invisible warriors did not have to travel far before they came across a group of four Brutes: two Minors, a Major and an Ultra. "Killing Unggoy is too easy," the Brute Major kicked a Grunt corpse. "I could kill Unggoy all day with my eyes closed."

"Is that so?" a voice rang out. It was Zakap's. "You think Unggoy are weak do you?"

"Show yourself, Unggoy!" the Brute Major demanded.

"Why should I? You said you could kill Unggoy with your eyes closed. Why don't you demonstrate this ability? Try and kill me!" Zakap's voice came from a different direction. The Special Ops Grunt had climbed up a tree.

The Brute Major wildly fired his plasma rifle; the red plasma bolts hitting nothing but the trees. The two Brute Minors tried to sniff Zakap out, but couldn't find the smell of the living Grunt amidst the stench of all the dead ones.

The Brute Major randomly tossed a plasma grenade. Howling in frustration.

"Is that the best you can do?" Zakap taunted. Now he had snuck around behind the Brute squad. This time the Brutes had an idea of where Zakap was, as his voice was clearly coming from a completely different direction than before.

With the Brutes' attention now in Zakap's new direction, and away from the others, Curlap and Yayap both primed plasma grenades and sent them flying towards the two Brute Minors.

Both grenades stuck their marks and the two low ranking Brutes exploded. The Major was furious, but the Brute Ultra kept his cool. Yayap and Curlap hid behind some trees and re-activated their camouflage as soon as they were able.

"We should withdraw and get reinforcements," the Ultra Brute stated.

"No! I will not run from some Unggoy! Come out and face me you cowards!" the Major thundered.

Deadside shut off his camouflage and revealed himself to be right behind the Brute Ultra. The Major saw him and roared a warning to his superior. The Ultra turned around just in time to see the Special Ops Hunter. Then Deadside killed him with one swift blow.

The Brute Major uselessly fired his plasma rifle at the Hunter, though the plasma bolts did nothing to Deadside's shield.

"Your opponent is me!" Zakap had shut off his camouflage and rushed the Brute. The half-crazed Grunt jumped onto the Brute and stared him down face to face.

"Killing Jiralhanae is too easy," Zakap mimicked what the Brute had said earlier about Unggoy. The Brute Major was stunned; Zakap's sudden attack wasn't so physically damaging as it was physiologically surprising. Zakap took a spike grenade he had lifted off the Major when he first jumped and him, and slammed the grenade right into his face.

Zakap dived away from the Brute just as the spike grenade detonated, leaving the Brute's head a pulpy mess. Bits of helmet and brain matter splattered on the jungle floor.

"It was over this way," the Grunts heard a Jackal hiss. The voice of a Jackal they recognized.

"You!" Yok hissed at the Yayap and the others when he came into view.

"Oh good. We've been looking for you," Zakap taunted.

A few Drones flew in from behind the Jackal Zealot. Gagaw, Mehmep, Nomnom, and the Elites came up to stand with the Special Ops Separatists.

For a brief moment, neither side attacked the other, everyone merely observing their opponents. Then the jungle lit up in a firefight.

Half the Drones went down in the first rounds of shots. Most of the Drones were latched onto the sides of trees or standing on the ground, making them much easier targets than if they had been flying in the air.

Yok had stripped 'Kotoree of his shields with an overcharged shot from his plasma pistol. But the Jackal fled from the fight when he noticed all of his Drones had been defeated.

"Get back here you little shit, I didn't say you could live!" Zakap chased after the fleeing Zealot.

Yok fled through a doorway built in the side of the mountain.

"Hurry, we have a Jackal to kill," Zakap told the others as they followed through the door.

* * *

Originally, Natarus and the Jiralhanae transports ships that escaped High Charity were going down towards the Sacred Ring like the Unggoy-held ships were. The situation was a complete mess, and Natarus struggled to make sense of the situation.

Natarus had never been a devout member of the Covenant. In truth he found the entire concept of the Great Journey to be highly suspect. But the tiniest doubt held in Natarus' mind that he had been wrong and they were soon to become gods. The possibility of flying down to the Sacred Ring and just laying low until they became immortal crossed his mind. Why risk death when invincibility was soon at hand? But Natarus quickly banished such a cowardly thought from his mind. Whether the Great Journey was real or not, Natarus knew Tartarus would not need his assistance down on the Sacred Ring. The Brute Ultra Captain resolved to turn his transports around and send them towards the fleet where they could have the greatest impact.

Natarus' Phantom was easily able to avoid attention and safely land in the hangar of a Jiralhanae-controlled cruiser. Though once Natarus and his pack left the Phantom they quickly realized that it was actually safer in space.

A group of Unggoy was engaged in combat against Kig-yar and a few Jiralhanae. The Grunts had held the advantage of superior numbers, until Natarus and his pack joined in on the fight. What surprised Natarus was the fact that the Grunts were rebelling on their own without an Elite to lead them or Hunters to assist them. They surely must have known they would lose; yet they fought anyway.

A Grunt Major was able to stick a few needler rounds into Natarus' leg, though the Brute responded by sending a few spiker rounds into his face.

An overexcited Grunt Minor activated a pair of plasma grenades and made a suicide run straight into a trio of Jackals. "Enjoy my bright, blue, balls!" The explosion sent Unggoy and Kig-yar limbs flying everywhere.

Once the last of the Unggoy had been killed Natarus stomped over to the highest-ranking Jiralhanae he saw in the hangar.

"Do you not command mastery of your own ship?" Natarus demanded of the Brute Captain.

"No," the Brute Captain hesitated. "Our Unggoy and Mgalekgolo have rebelled against us."

"How do you not command the respect of the lower ranks?" Natarus accusingly pointed his finger. The Grunts and Hunters rebelling alongside the Elites on High Charity was understandable, but for Grunts and Hunters to be rebelling on a Brute-controlled cruiser was unthinkable.

"This situation is under control. We still maintain mastery of our ship. We will soon break their will to fight, or kill them," the Captain sounded more confident now.

Before the pair could continue to converse any further a new Phantom flew into the hangar, but it dropped off not Brutes, but Elites. "I think they're here to inspire your mutineers to continue to fight," Natarus told the Brute Captain.

Various Elites spilled out onto the hangar deck, most of them low-ranking Minors. After the first thirty seconds of battle it was excruciatingly obvious that Natarus' pack of Brute Stalkers were far too skilled for the Sangheili. Any move the Elites made was swiftly countered by the more experienced Brutes. The Unggoy that Natarus and his pack had just fought in the hangar had put up a better challenge than the new Elite boarding party was.

A misfired grenade from a brute shot detonated on a plasma grenade that was lying on the floor, causing an explosion that engulfed other plasma grenades lying around. The series of detonations caught most of the Elites. Some had been blown to smithereens, their remains decorating the walls, floor, ceiling, and their surviving comrades. The Elites that did survive had lost their energy shields to the explosions, and were even easier prey for the Brutes.

After the Elite boarding action had finally been repelled, the shipmaster had contacted Natarus with an assignment. Apparently Natarus' actions had not gone unnoticed since he had entered the cruiser but the Brute Captain Ultra found that he was being ordered off the ship.

"What? I don't get it," Moartorus was confused as to why they were re-boarding their Phantom. "Aren't they having a mutineer problem?"

"Yes," Natarus answered patiently. Now was the time to follow orders, not question them, but Natarus spelled out the situation to Moartorus anyway. "But, those Sangheili cruisers pose a greater threat than a few ill-tempered Unggoy." Natarus and his pack were being sent to board and capture a Sangheili cruiser.

* * *

"What was that Zealot's problem?" a Brute Minor asked a Captain Major. Yok had run by screeching, though he didn't bother to warn his allies of what was coming.

"Dunno," the Brute Captain Major crossed his arms.

Suddenly both Brutes turned and saw a Special Ops Hunter barreling down on them. Just as they raised their rifles, Deadside smashed into the two Jiralhanae.

The Grunts came in after the Hunter and shot the two Brutes to death as they tried to pick themselves off the floor.

A Jackal sniper tried to pick off Gagaw with a needle rifle but missed. Snee 'Balatee killed the enemy sniper.

The cave where the Separatists had chased Yok to was dark, though the Unggoy could easily see the glowing wrist shields of the Kig-yar. There were plenty of cyan and violet shields of the Minors and Majors but no orange glow to be found, it seemed that Yok had fled the area completely.

The fighting inspired a pair of Grunt Minors to come out of hiding from behind some supply crates. The two new Unggoy helped Yayap deal with a pair of Jackal Minors. Yayap had no idea how long those Grunts had been hiding, but it seemed that they were ready to fight now.

Just as the cave was nearly clear of Loyalists, a swarm of Yanme'e came through a door. Most of the Drones took to the air but found that there just wasn't a lot of room to maneuver in the cramped area.

The Grunts took out most of the Yanme'e but Mntis 'Kotoree was the one who killed the Drone Leader.

The Separatists went through the door where the Drones had come from. They went down a series of hallways, some littered with the corpses of Unggoy and Sangheili. They occasionally checked to see if any were still alive, and got quite a surprise when they found that one of the Grunt Minors had been faking death. It was difficult, but they were able to persuade the scarred Unggoy to join them. The scared Minor ended up sticking very close to Curlap.

The Covenant Separatists fought a few small groups of Jackals and Skirmishers in the rooms connected by the hallways, though it was nothing that they couldn't handle.

They at last came upon a room filled with weapons amongst the bodies of the dead. Yayap took a purple fuel rod gun and Mehmep acquired a gold fuel rod cannon.

The Separatists made their way back outside to the jungle. A quartet of Jackals greeted them as they walked out into the sunlight, and the Kig-yar were promptly killed.

They only traveled but a few meters further when a Brute driving a Ghost barred their way. Yayap led his target and fired, but had aimed a bit too far ahead. The Ghost drove into the blast, causing it to somersault and eject its pilot. 'Balatee filled the Brute with needles from his newly acquired needle rifle.

As the Grunts got closer to the flipped Ghost a team of Skirmishers intercepted them. 'Kotoree headshot the first three Skirmishers with his carbine. The instant deaths of their comrades didn't faze the remaining Skirmishers in the slightest, but the power of Deadside did.

Yayap and Zakap flipped over the Ghost. "You want it?" Zakap asked.

"Sure," Yayap gave his friend the fuel rod gun and took control of the Ghost.

Yayap led of the way, and quickly discovered a pair of abandoned Ghosts. Gagaw and Nomnom took these. They heard sounds of battle nearby and pressed onward.

The Grunts came across a clearing where Jiralhanae and Kig-yar fought against Sangheili and Mgalekgolo. The massive amount of Separatists from Yayap's group prompted some Unggoy to come out from hiding in the bushes to join in on the fight.

A Brute jumped on top of Gagaw's Ghost but Yayap was able to shoot him off before the Jiralhanae could steal it. Yayap turned his Ghost to the left and boosted forward, trying to run down a Minor Jackal. The Kig-yar dove out of the way just in time, but Yayap was easily able to gun him down with the Ghost's plasma cannons.

Mehmep and Zakap fired their fuel rod weapons at a Brute Captain Ultra that had control of a shielded plasma turret. The Brute abandoned the turret right before it blew up but was killed by Deadside's needler cannon.

"Forward! Keep pushing forward! Show theses scum what Unggoy can do!" Curlap ended up having to oversee the new Grunts their group had picked up along the way.

A lance of Jackals came in from behind Curlap's squad. Yayap turned his Ghost around and plastered straight through the Jackal group, smashed into and killing three. Curlap and the other Grunts were able to deal with the rest.

The battle was going poorly for the Loyalists. A frustrated Brute Minor had gone berserk, but was run over by Nomnom's Ghost.

A few of the Jackals tried to flee, but the Ghost-riding Grunts were easily able to chase them down and kill them. Before they were killed, the Kig-yar had tried to follow a shallow stream. Now the Separatists followed it. As they followed the stream the Separatists came across small groups of Skirmishers and Drones, all of which tried to flee before them. The Separatist group had grown too large for the small Loyalist patrols to fight.

Eventually the Grunts, Hunters, and Elites did come across a Loyalist force large enough to challenge them. A Specter filled with Elites and a Prowler carrying Brutes were already fighting one another.

Yayap, Gagaw and Nomnom drove in to help but were cut off by a pair of Brute Choppers. The Ghost-riding Grunts decided to focus on the Choppers rather than the Prowler.

Curlap and his squad of Grunts noticed a trio of Jackals that were picking on an Unggoy Heavy. Curlap and his Grunts rushed over, firing their plasma pistols and needlers. The trio of Jackals went down without even putting up a fight. The Grunt Heavy then took control of a nearby plasma turret and started firing at the Prowler.

A Brute Major wielding a brute shot took out two Minor Elites with one grenade, killing off the last of the Sangheili that the Separatists had picked up along the way. 'Kotoree headshot the Brute with his Covenant carbine.

The Brute Prowler ended up defeating the Elite Specter but the victory was short lived as the various Separatist Hunters took turned shooting at it until the vehicle was destroyed.

The last surviving Brutes and Jackals retreated down the stream all the way down until it emptied out into the sea. At the beach they made their final stand, and were slaughtered by the Separatists (though the Hunters did most of the killing).

Yayap abandoned his Ghost, it had taken a lot of damage and he didn't want to be riding it when it finally gave out. Just as Yayap dismounted, a Needler Wraith appeared from out of the jungle trees and approached the Separatists on the beach. Unlike the standard Wraiths that had a plasma mortar or the Anti-air Wraiths that had fuel rod cannons, the Needler Wraith was equipped with two needler pods that were perfect for destroying armored vehicles or aircraft.

The Needler Wraith didn't attack and neither did any of the Covenant soldiers. A moment passed, then the hatch on the Wraith opened up, revealing the one-eyed Grunt Ultra they met on High Charity. Soon Grunts and Hunters came out of the jungle where the Wraith had. The Separatists that had fled High Charity with them were all together again.

"You gave us a scare there," Curlap called out.

The other Grunt Ultra let out a chuckle. "You want it? I was never any good with Wraiths myself."

"Sure, I'll take it," Zakap said. Yayap ended up manning the Wraith's anti-infantry plasma turret.

The Grunts and Hunters now formed a small army. 'Kotoree and 'Balatee felt isolated. They were the only Elites in the whole group.

The Separatist army pushed along the beach, with the Needler Wraith leading the way. They encountered a few Jiralhanae-controlled Choppers, Prowlers, Wraiths, and Anti-air Wraiths, all of which the Needler Wraith was able to destroy with some help from the Hunters and two Elites. Gagaw and Nomnom also helped some but for Unggoy acting as infantry, the battles on the beach were more or less just a leisurely stroll.

Everything was going fine until the Separatists stopped coming across Jiralhanae vehicles. As mass of Jackals, Skirmishers, and Drones barred their way, led by a single Jackal Zealot, Yok. Needler Wraiths did not excel at killing individual infantry. Zakap did not immediately attack, instead waiting for all the infantry to catch up to the tank.

"You decided to stop running like a little bitch?" Yayap taunted Yok.

"You're all going to die right here and now," Yok was wielding a spiker.

"We'll just see about that," Curlap tossed a plasma grenade and started the fight.

The Needler Wraith opened fire, homing needles going every which way. The large amount of Drones that choked the air prevented the needles from getting a lock.

The attacks from the Hunters proved just as ineffective as the Jackals and Skirmishers all broke ranks and rushed the Separatists.

The Grunts, with help from the two Elites, ended up doing most of the killing. The Grunts' plasma pistols were perfect for shorting out the Jackals shields, and the handheld needlers were able to swat down the airborne Drones.

Yok fired his spiker in vain at a Red Hunter. He had to dive out of the way when Gagaw tried to run him over. Nomnom then took his turn at trying to run over the Zealot with his Ghost. After avoiding Nomnom, Yok had to run from Mehmep and a Gold Hunter that had targeted him.

The Jackal Zealot ran right into the fighting mass of Jackals and Grunts, trying to avoid any more attention to himself. Yok hoped he wouldn't attract any more heavy weapons with so many Grunts nearby. And he was right, the only things he had to worry about were a few needler rounds and plasma pistol bursts. Nothing his shield couldn't handle. But Yok knew his side couldn't win the fight unless he did something about the Needler Wraith. It wasn't being very effective, but his team had no weapons with which to destroy it. So Yok took it upon himself to get rid of the tank's occupants. He ditched his spiker and activated his energy cutlass.

Yok ran for the Needler Wraith, but Yayap saw him and tried to gun him down. The few rounds that did hit only impacted on the Zealot's wrist shield. Yok got to the Wraith and ran up the front of the tank. Yayap got out of the gunner seat to avoid being cut up but Yok stopped him from jumping off the Wraith. Yok tried to stab him but Yayap caught the Jackal by his sword arm and wouldn't let go. The two struggled for a hectic moment, neither of them able to overpower the other.

Gagaw was still driving his Ghost about the beach battlefield when he saw Yayap grappling with Yok. He took careful aim and sent of short stream of plasma towards the Zealot. The shots hit Yok, sending the Jackal tumbling off the Wraith. Though the Zealot still hadn't let Yayap go, so the Special Ops Grunt went down with him.

When they hit the sand they finally separated. Yok had dropped his cutlass. Yayap and Yok both got up off the sand at the same time, and both were unarmed. They eyed each other for a brief moment and then both of them dove for the energy cutlass lying in the sand.

Luckily, Yayap was closer to the cutlass and managed to grab it before Yok, though the Jackal was upon him the moment he had the weapon in hand. They struggled again, Yok trying to get the weapon back. A wild shot from a plasma pistol hit Yok in the leg, but the Jackal came at Yayap again.

But Yayap had caught Yok right in the beak with the cutlass from an uppercut. Yok stumbled back, no longer able to speak normally. There were only sputtering squawks as the Kig-yar tried to curse the Unggoy. Yayap plunged the energy cutlass deep into Yok's chest, and the Kig-yar fell over dead.

Not long after Yok's death, the rest of the Loyalists had been defeated. When the last Kig-yar fell the Unggoy cheered and congratulated one another on a battle well fought. The Hunters gave out victory roars. 'Kotoree and 'Balatee even joined in, the two Sangheili were impressed that they were able to do so well with only two Elites on their side. Yayap caught a lot of praise for killing Yok, the Zealot leader of the enemy group. The short celebration died down and the Separatist army continued their journey across the beach.

* * *

Natarus and his Brute Stalkers had infiltrated the Sangheili ship through the hangar and had been fighting their way to the command bridge. The Elites fell and the Grunts fled before their mighty strength and skill. The Brute pack had been fortunate enough not to encounter any Hunters so far.

When the Brutes finally did reach the bridge, they merely had to walk through the doors and they opened automatically. Natarus couldn't believe the Sangheili were so stupid that they couldn't lock the doors to the bridge. Though the Jiralhanae realized that the Sangheili wanted them to reach the bridge. The Shipmaster and the command crew had their weapons ready. They were well aware that the Jiralhanae squad had been wreaking havoc throughout their ship and they were itching for some payback.

Naturally, Natarus took on the Shipmaster himself. The Elite charged at him with energy sword drawn, but Natarus didn't have his spikers out at the ready. Natarus chose to fight unarmed. When the Elite swung his sword, Natarus caught him by the wrist mid-strike. Natarus then twisted the Elite's wrist, breaking it. The Sangheili tried to stumble back but Natarus wouldn't let go. He grabbed one of the Elite's mandibles with his free hand and ripped it off. Natarus finally released the Elite, grabbed his energy sword, and shoved in through the Shipmaster's skull.

Natarus' Brute Stalkers likewise decimated their Elite opponents, though not in such a bloody fashion as their leader had done.

The Elites were dead and the bridge was taken. Several Brutes assumed control of the computer consoles while Moartorus and Boartorus guarded the doors in case more Elites tried to retake the bridge. Natarus tapped a few buttons and opened up a communications channel with the Jiralhanae.

"Shipmaster, we have captured the enemy's command bridge," Natarus reported back to the leader of the Jiralhanae cruiser he had previously assisted.

"Good work," a gruff voice came back through. "Lock a collision course for enemy cruiser marked zero-three and report back to my ship immediately."

"But sir, what about the other strike team?"

"They're taking too long. I've ordered them to retreat. We're short on time. We must hurry and follow the Prophet of Truth to Earth. I will not allow our holy hierarch to be without a proper escort."

"Understood. Setting collision course. We will report back immediately."

"Good. Make haste or I will leave you behind."

Natarus wondered why he wasn't being left behind but realized that the Shipmaster knew his value as a warrior and would spend the time to reacquire such a skilled Jiralhanae. Natarus had, after all, taken a Sangheili cruiser with just a single squad of Brute Stalkers.

The Brutes locked in the course and abandoned ship. As their Phantom returned to the Brute ship, Natarus was unable to view the collision between the two Sangheili cruisers. He knew the explosion must have been spectacular and that it was a military marvel that the mission was a success, but he still wished that he saw the destruction of the two cruisers with his own eyes.

* * *

The Grunts traversed the beach until the came across a motionless Scarab pointing towards an island out in the sea. There were several Grunts and Hunters idling about underneath the Scarab.

"What is that place?" Yayap asked a Grunt Ultra, who he assumed to be the leader of the group.

"I dunno," the Ultra Grunt answered. "Many Sangheili and humans went there though, chasing after some Jiralhanae."

"Humans?" Mehmep asked. "With the Sangheili?"

"That's where we gotta go," Zakap said.

"Why we gotta go there?" Nomnom asked.

"Cause there's nothing left to kill here," Zakap answered.

"How are we gonna get there?" Gagaw pointed at the water separating them from their new target destination. "I can't swim."

The answer to their dilemma appeared in the sky. One of the Phantoms they had used to escape from High Charity had swung around and landed. Some of the Separatists loaded up and flew over to the large door the Scarab had blown open.

They slowly made their way through the smoldering wreckage. The Scarab had certainly done a good deal of damage. They reached an area that had been untouched by the power of the Scarab, but noted that there were bloody Jiralhanae bodies scattered about everywhere.

They went through another hallway and came to the Control Room. The Grunts walked along a straight walkway that abruptly dropped off. From the edge they could see a three-floor structure with a gravity lift in the middle. There were corpses of high-ranking Sangheili and Jiralhanae all over the place, the mighty Tartarus among the dead.

Though Yayap noticed that the Arbiter was still alive, as well as two humans and the Oracle.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I played the levels Uprising and The Great Journey from Halo 2 to get a feel of how this chapter would go.

I got the idea for a Needler Wraith from playing Halo Wars. The turrets that protect the Covenant bases can be upgraded with either a plasma mortar, fuel rod cannons, or needlers. The regular Wraith has a plasma mortar and the Anti-air Wraith has fuel rod cannons, so I decided that it is entirely plausible that there could be a Needler Wraith.


	10. He is a Genius

**Chapter 10: He is a Genius**

"Hmm-mm-mmmm," the Monitor 343 Guilty Spark wouldn't stop humming to himself.

"Hey, could you keep it down? We're trying to stage a sneak attack. That implies quiet," Zakap lectured the floating A.I. Zakap had been surprised that he lived to meet an Oracle, though the Special Ops Unggoy didn't show him the respect more reverent members of the Covenant would. Although considering what the Monitor had been telling them, everything the Covenant believed in was a lie.

"Ha ha ha," the Monitor laughed. "Unnecessary." 343 Guilty Spark kept floating right up to the two Brute guards the Grunts were hiding from. The pair of Jiralhanae were protecting a gravity lift leading to a cruiser.

"Oh, hello," the A.I. greeted the two Jiralhanae.

The two Brutes were dumbfounded that an Oracle had just appeared before them, seemingly from out of nowhere without any warning or reason.

Then both Brutes dropped dead nearly simultaneously from headshots. One had been killed by a Covenant carbine and the other by a beam rifle. A few needler rounds whizzed by the Brute that had been killed by the beam rifle.

"Hey, he was mine!" Zakap complained as he reloaded his needler.

"You snooze you lose, short stack," Johnson told the Unggoy.

"I hate you," Zakap growled.

"Damn right you do."

"I think I'm gonna do something about it," Zakap started to point his needler at the Sergeant Major.

"Zakap! Enough!" Curlap yelled. "We have more important things to worry about."

"Fine," Zakap lowered the weapon. "Humans, we don't need their scum," the Special Operations Unggoy skulked towards the dead Jiralhanae, Gagaw following him close behind. The Grunt Major shared Zakap's opinion on the matter.

Yayap didn't know why Zakap had to fight with the humans over kills. Perhaps he was trying to show off. Yayap really didn't care; he just wanted to get out of this alive.

Tensions had been high. Yayap noticed that nearly everyone was on edge, save Deadside. The Special Ops Hunter didn't show the least bit concern about his new human allies. Though that was partially from the fact that Hunters almost never seemed to show concern about anything, nor any other emotion. Yayap figured Deadside knew he could take the four humans on his own with no injury to himself. Of course, the Unggoy would be another matter if the fragile alliance fell apart. Yayap had survived humans, the Flood, Sentinels, and the Covenant Loyalists, the last thing he needed was being shot by the humans after they had joined forces.

It was for this reason the Yayap stuck near Commander Miranda Keyes. The human female seemed more levelheaded than the others, plus Yayap was sure he could take her if it came to a fight. Humans were physically weaker than Unggoy, and Yayap could tell just by looking that Keyes stood no chance against him in a fight.

Mehmep had been watching over Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker and Nomnom was shadowing Staff Sergeant Marcus Banks. The Unggoy were acting a bit twitchy, ready to betray their new allies if they needed to. Mntis 'Kotoree and Snee 'Balatee kept near the Arbiter. Curlap had been expending all his energy to keep everyone working together.

The whole group walked up to the gravity lift leading up into a Covenant cruiser. Though they had accumulated a small army as they fought across the jungle of Installation 05, the Arbiter and the humans were currently only taking a small advance team ahead to the ship.

"I always liked riding gravity lifts. Up we go," Nomnom went up first. Zakap and Gagaw went up next. Mehmep walked into the gravity beam next. To Yayap, it seemed as if the Grunts were trying to get onboard the cruiser before their new human allies.

Yayap walked into the beam the same time Keyes and Guilty Spark did. Yayap looked upwards at the cruiser rather than look down because he didn't want to realize just how high he was.

In the next moment the Covenant Separatists, humans, and Monitor were all consumed in the dim purple glow of the cruiser's interior.

In the next moment after that, green bolts of light danced across the area. Drones with plasma pistols had begun firing on the intruders.

"Miserable bugs," Zakap said.

The invaders had numbers and skill on their side and after the first two Drones died, the others fled. Once the sound of Yanme'e wings were out of Yayap's ears he could smell the stench of Jiralhanae. The ship was ripe with the foul stink of the Loyalists.

"Get down!" Curlap yelled dove away from a thrown spike grenade.

The cowardly Drones had been replaced by angry Brutes and Jackals. Several different clusters of the Loyalists emerged from multiple doorways.

The Arbiter roared and charged at a Brute Chieftain.

Yayap overcharged his pistol and fired into a cluster of three batteries lying on the floor. Two nearby Jackals were killed in the explosion.

"Well, that's one way to save ammo," Stacker commented on Yayap's trick with the plasma batteries.

Only one of the Drones was brave enough to return to the fight and ended up being Gagaw's opponent.

Zakap fired his needler at a Minor Jackal, who cackled when the needles harmlessly bounced off his shield. The Jackal fired a plasma pistol that hit Zakap in his chest armor. Zakap then tackled the Jackal, smashing his opponent with the sharp his of his needler.

After witnessing Yayap's success using the plasma batteries, some of the Brutes had started picking up some of the other batteries lying around and chucking them at their enemies, using them as makeshift explosives.

"You fools are going to blow the whole ship apart," 'Kotoree whined at the overly aggressive Jiralhanae.

"Don't they have grenades they could throw instead?" Curlap dived out of the way.

"This ain't bad, this is real bad!" Stacker fired at the Brutes and dodged flying plasma batteries at the same time.

An explosion knocked back Yayap. The blast was far enough way that it did no damage, but Yayap could feel the heat. Yayap ended up near Miranda Keyes and Guilty Spark, and the trio ended up being forced through one of the doors as a Brute tossed a plasma battery at them.

They made it through the door and it shut just as the flying battery collided.

After she deemed it safe, Miranda tried to walk back through the door to rejoin the fight but the door didn't open. The human kicked at the door but it didn't do anything. Yayap went over and tried the control panel on the side to manually get the door to open.

"It's stuck," Yayap told the others.

"Great, we'll have to find another way around." They could still hear the sounds of the firefight still going on at the other side of the door.

"Do you know the way to the ship's command center?" Guilty Spark asked Yayap.

"No."

"We need to get back to the fight," Miranda protested.

"I see. Wait here please," the Monitor turned and left.

"You don't know the way around the ship?" Miranda turned and asked Yayap.

"Do I look like a Sangheili Shipmaster? I'm just an Unggoy. I don't have the layout of every kind of ship in the Covenant fleet burned into my brain," Yayap snapped at the human.

"Alright," Miranda backed off the subject.

A pair of Drones came up from the ceiling on the opposite end of the hallway from Yayap and Miranda.

"Cowards finally decided to come back," Yayap assumed the two Drones were part of the group that had first attacked them when they entered the ship.

Miranda dropped the two oversized bugs quickly with her SMG. Yayap's plasma pistol fire had amounted little more than a light show.

"Out of ammo," Keyes said. "I doubt I'll find any more on this ship," Miranda ditched the SMG and picked up one of the needlers the Drones had been holding.

The sounds of battle on the other side of the door had died away.

"You guys win?" Yayap called out on the other side.

"Yeah," Nomnom yelled back. "You'd think we lose?"

"Get back here you coward," Johnson said.

"We can't Sergeant, the door's jammed. We'll have to go around," Miranda said.

"Alright, we'll try and meet up along the way," Sergeant Johnson replied through the door.

Guilty Spark reappeared soon after the two groups on opposite sides of the door were done talking. "This way," the hovering robot said. Miranda and Yayap followed.

"Did you find out where we need to go?" Commander Keyes asked as the Monitor hummed to himself.

"But of course," Guilty Spark replied.

Miranda and Yayap silently followed Guilty Spark through a series of twists and turns through the purple corridors of the Covenant cruiser. Occasionally they passed a few corpses, mostly of Unggoy. Yayap figured that they were stationed on the cruiser and were killed when they rebelled. There was also the occasional Kig-yar or Yanme'e corpse, but it was clear that the Loyalists had won the fight. Yayap traded his plasma pistol for one he got off an Unggoy corpse that had more battery life left.

"You guys were quick to start a civil war. The Covenant seems a lot more homogenous from the outside," Miranda commented.

"How so?" Yayap turned to look Keyes in the eye. "The Unggoy never had a choice in the matter. You think we like serving these jerks? We're slaves," Yayap ranted. "We were slaves," Yayap corrected himself.

"Sorry," the human said.

"Not your fault," Yayap said. "How would you know? Why would you care about the plight of your enemy?"

The trio walked through a door that led to a large room that appeared to Yayap to be a control substation. There were several bodies of Unggoy and Yanme'e lying around in pools of blood. Guilty Spark started messing with some of the controls.

"I shall return momentarily," the Monitor hovered up and appeared to disappear into a ventilation duck.

Yayap saw a Type-32 Light Anti-Armor Weapon lying near an Unggoy corpse. The purple gun was more commonly referred to as the fuel rod gun and was older than the golden Type-33 fuel rod cannon. Though it was still widely used, particularly by Unggoy soldiers. Yayap decided not to use it, considering how dangerous it could be in close quarters. However, Yayap did relieve the deceased Unggoy of his final plasma grenade.

"Maybe we join together," Yayap suggested as the pair checked to make sure the room was secure.

"Hm?" Miranda turned to the Unggoy.

"Humans exterminated by the Covenant, Unggoy enslaved by the Covenant. We have common enemy," Yayap explained. "We already working together right now."

"Perhaps," Miranda replied. "It would be difficult for some. Our races have been killing each other for a long time."

"Yes," Yayap agreed. "But more will die if we don't stop fighting. And we're both running out of people to lose."

"Sergeant Johnson and that one Grunt don't get along too well," Miranda pointed out.

"Who, Zakap? He's just angry. We all are. He seen too many Unggoy die I think. He'll cool down. If joining the humans means fewer dead Unggoy and no more Covenant then I think he would be more pleasant."

Miranda eyed Yayap. "You're an interesting Unggoy."

"I like you too," Yayap said. "For one, you don't shoot at me," the Unggoy laughed. Miranda smiled.

Then a door opened, the door that they had previously come through when they had first entered the room. Yayap hoped it was Guilty Spark, or a squad of Unggoy, or Mgalekgolo, or Sangheili, or humans. Unfortunately it was a team of Skirmishers.

Miranda and Yayap immediately started firing, killing the first two Skirmishers that walked through the door. Yayap and Miranda then took cover behind separate pillars as the Covenant Loyalists returned fire.

As Miranda drew the Loyalists' attention by firing her needler, Yayap tossed a plasma grenade, killed a pair of the Skirmishers that were positioned too close together.

Yayap pointed his plasma pistol around the corner of his pillar and fired. Through sheer blind luck he shot and killed one of the two remaining Skirmishers.

The last Skirmisher shrieked and charged. Keyes held down the trigger on her needler, filling the Skirmisher full of pink needles.

The Skirmisher stumbled but skill kept coming. Yayap saw that the Skirmisher had been pumped full of too many of the deadly needles. Yayap bolted from the safety of his pillar and headed for Commander Keyes.

"Get down!" Yayap tackled Miranda to the floor as the Skirmisher exploded. Though the blast had been close, neither of them suffered any serious injury. Though if Yayap hadn't knocked Miranda further out of the way, she might have been killed.

"You can get off me now," Miranda said.

"Sorry," Yayap got to his feet and helped pull Miranda up. "I was just trying to save you is all."

"Thanks."

"You gotta be careful with needlers. If you're not they can be just as dangerous to you as to the enemy."

"I'll keep that in mind."

343 Guilty Spark returned to the area.

"Why you show up after the fight is over?" Yayap asked the Monitor.

343 Guilty Spark ignored the comment and messed with some of the controls again, this time opening up a new door. "This way."

Before leaving the room, Yayap grabbed the fuel rod gun off the floor. Despite Miranda's close call with her needler reinforcing Yayap's belief that explosive weapons could get them killed in close quarters, Yayap decided they'd need the extra firepower.

* * *

Yayap's hunch proved to be correct, for the next group of Loyalists they came across were a group of heavily armed Brutes. Yayap fired his fuel rod gun and Miranda her needler, but Guilty Spark also attacked. An unbelievably powerful red beam emanated from Spark's eye. The Brutes' power armor couldn't hold up against such a barrage of attacks.

The Brutes directly ahead of them died, but a new group attacked them from the side. The new group of attackers was larger and had more high-ranking Jiralhanae than the previous one. Guilty Spark quickly turned and blasted above the Jiralhanae instead of at them. The ceiling caved in and crushed the Monitor's enemies.

Yayap and Miranda lowered their weapons as they observed the chaos the Monitor had caused.

"Ha ha ha ha ha. I am a genius," Spark laughed.

"You could try being a little more careful," Miranda lectured the machine.

"My actions were necessary to keep you alive," Guilty Spark casually replied."

"Works for me," Yayap added.

* * *

The trio finally made it to main door to the cruiser's command bridge.

"The bridge will be heavily guarded," Yayap told the other two. "I don't think we will be able to take them all. We need to go find the others before attacking the bridge."

"Follow closely," Guilty Spark ignored Yayap and went through the doors anyway. Miranda and Keyes quickly followed, knowing the Monitor had blown their cover and their best chance was to hit the enemy as hard and fast as they could.

However, there was no enemy on the bridge. None living anyway.

"You made it," Zakap said. The others had gone on ahead and captured the bridge before Miranda, Guilty Spark and Yayap. Yayap breathed a sigh of relief, everyone was still alive and well.

"You all right, ma'am?" Sergeant Johnson asked Commander Keyes.

"We're fine. What the situation?"

"We've taken control of the ship. The other teams have come up the lift and we're clearing out all opposition," the Arbiter answered.

The fighting to take full control of the cruiser didn't last long. The panicking Yanme'e didn't do the Loyalists much good and most of the Jiralhanae fled the ship when they realized they couldn't hold it. The remaining Kig-yar who didn't follow their Jiralhanae masters were slaughtered.

Once it was fully under Separatist control, the cruiser left the Sacred Ring and went into slipspace, headed for Earth. The Separatist Fleet of Retribution stayed behind back at Installation 05 to finish off the last of the Loyalists and the Flood.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sergeant Stacker and Sergeant Banks escaped the Brutes with Sergeant Johnson at the end of Halo 2. Though they were left behind when Johnson stole the Scarab, I'm certain they regrouped with the others after the end of Halo 2, which is why they now appear in the team.

The plasma batteries mentioned in the chapter appeared in Halo 3 and Halo: Reach. In the games, they could be used as improvised explosive devices.

Yayap saving Miranda from the needler blast is a tribute to the fact that in Halo: CE, her father was always killing himself with his needler on the level The Truth and Reconciliation.

The Fuel Rod Gun from Halo: CE and Halo 2 differ drastically so I split them up into two separate weapons. I refer to the purple one from the first Halo game as the fuel rod gun and the golden one from the other Halo games as the fuel rod cannon.


	11. The Storm

**Chapter 11: The Storm**

The Covenant Separatists and their human allies made it back to Earth. The human homeworld was where the two sides parted ways. Only the Arbiter and a couple of Elites went with Commander Keyes and the other humans. The small army of Grunts and Hunters were kept away from the human base hidden in the jungle, the Crow's Nest, in order to prevent any additional friction between the two sides. Yayap missed Miranda; she was all right for a human.

Yayap and the others were officially tasked with keeping 343 Guilty Spark safe. It was an easy task, considering the Loyalists had no idea where the Oracle was, nor did they seem to care. They were far more interested in digging up the Earth for whatever reason.

Yayap and the other Unggoy spent the majority of their time listening to all Guilty Spark had to say, and the Monitor was clearing enjoying educating them.

Though the time came when the Prophet of Truth and the Brutes started making a final violent push against the humans. The humans' jungle base had been destroyed and the humans were moving to try and take out the Covenant Loyalists' anti-air defenses.

"Get your gear and move out," Mntis 'Kotoree commanded. When the Elite Major forcefully took charge, he would often be peppered by sarcasm from Zakap, but none was forthcoming this time. Yayap wondered if the Zakap was just tired, or was getting used to having 'Kotoree around.

Yayap and Gagaw were assigned to a pair of Ghosts. Zakap and Mehmep took the Needler Wraith they had brought along from Installation 05. 'Kotoree and 'Balatee shared a Revenant. The other Grunts and Hunters in the attack group were assigned as infantry.

* * *

Yayap and Gagaw's Ghosts were ferried in the gravity lift of a Spirit dropship. The Elites' Revenant and Grunts' Needler Wraith were ferried by Phantoms.

Commander Keyes contacted Yayap through the COM. "Yayap, the Prophet of Truth has found the Ark. Our only chance of stopping him is an aerial assault but we need your team to help clear out the Covenant's anti-air defenses. Keyes out." It was weird; Yayap wasn't the one in charge of their group, yet Miranda addressed him over any of the others.

Yayap and Gagaw were already in their Ghosts as the Spirit made its way closer to the drop zone, a dead, gray lakebed. There was a heavy wind carrying a variety of familiar and alien smells. Of course the familiar smells were of death, overheated plasma weaponry and smoking wreckage.

What were once tiny specks in Yayap's vision were steadily becoming clearly defined shapes: infantry, vehicles, and turrets. Banshees and Hornets chased each other across the sky, though none paid the trio of new landing ships any notice. As the Spirit and two Phantoms continued their descent the strong wind devolved into a gentle breeze.

The Spirit was nearly on the ground, the two Ghosts locked in the gravity field were released and Yayap and Gagaw dropped down and immediately got their vehicles moving. The Spirit's two prongs opened up and Grunts piled out.

"Go, go!" Curlap led the infantry.

The two Phantoms dropped off the Revenant and Needler Wraith, as well as more Unggoy infantry and some Mgalekgolo.

A trio of Ghosts driven by Heavy Grunts rushed out to meet the newcomers. Yayap and Gagaw sped their Ghosts forward to intercept them, though no one attacked.

"What you doing?" one of the Grunts addressed Yayap as the Ghosts pulled alongside each other. "No one told us about reinforcements."

"It surprise you they don't tell us anything?" one of the other Unggoy told the one who first spoke.

"Yes, we're reinforcements?" Yayap was confused. "There are Jiralhanae and Kig-yar over there," Yayap pointed. "Why haven't you killed them?"

"What?" the other Grunt was confused now.

"The civil war?" Yayap said.

"You mean when the Sangheili betrayed us?"

"What's been going on over here?" Yayap asked. The Separatist infantry and vehicles were reaching the grouping of Ghosts.

"The Sangheili betrayed us," the Unggoy stated. "We had to wipe them out."

"While fighting humans at the same time," another of the Grunt Ghost riders chimed in.

"The Jiralhanae have been telling you lies," Curlap informed the three Grunts as he approached. "There was a civil war on High Charity. The Unggoy and Mgalekgolo have sided with the Sangheili in freeing ourselves from the slavery of the San 'Shyuum." Curlap had purposefully left out the part about the entire Covenant religion being a lie. It looked as if the Unggoy still fighting on Earth had been fed a pack of lies as to what was going on. As long as it appeared to be another Unggoy Rebellion and not a war over the validity of the Covenant religion, Curlap figured it would be easy to get the Unggoy to switch sides.

"Oh," one of the Grunts said.

"Okay, we kill Jiralhanae and Kig-yar now," another added.

"Don't forget the Yanme'e, they stand with the San 'Shyuum," Curlap added.

"That was easy," Mehmep said to Zakap.

"Right then. We need to kill the Loyalists," Curlap told the Grunts. "We need to take out their anti-air power."

Loyalist infantry were approaching: Unggoy and Kig-yar led by Jiralhanae. The Jiralhanae were wondering what on Earth was going on and decided to find out for themselves.

Then the five Ghosts all turned and fired upon the first three Kig-yar to reach them.

"Traitors!" a Brute yelled.

"Over there! The Revenant! They are being led by Sangheili!" another Jiralhanae shouted.

The immediate battle was a huge mess. Confused Unggoy infantry ran for their lives. The Separatist Unggoy that knew what was going on shot at the Kig-yar while the Mgalekgolo fought with the Jiralhanae.

The various Shade turrets in the area were all operated by Unggoy, who were confused as to what was going on but didn't fire upon the Grunt attackers or their allies.

Yayap pulled his Ghost away from the fight and destroyed a pair of parked Choppers before the Brutes could get to them.

Yayap had to swing around to avoid the spiker shots from an angered Brute who had been making his way to the parked Choppers before Yayap had destroyed them. Yayap gunned the enraged Jiralhanae down. When Yayap got his Ghost moving again he saw Gagaw run over a Brute Major with his Ghost. It was a close call as it looked like the Brute was trying to hijack Gagaw's Ghost.

A Prowler filled with Jiralhanae zoomed into the area and the vehicle's turret gunner fired in Yayap's direction. Yayap boosted his Ghost as far away as he could manage. Zakap took down the Prowler with his Needler Wraith.

The Separatist vehicles moved in on their first target, an Anti-air Wraith. The Brute-controlled vehicle was busy shooting down Hornets and paid no heed to its impending doom at the hands of the five Grunt Ghosts and Revenant that peppered it with plasma from behind.

With the Anti-air Wraith destroyed, the vehicles moved about, mopping up the last few Loyalist stragglers before moving on. The Grunts that were previously under the command of the Brutes mindlessly followed the Separatist Grunts.

A human warehouse blocked the path to the next Brute Anti-air Wraith. The Separatists couldn't go around, as there was a long drop on one side and an even more complicated Traxus factory complex on the other.

"Can't go around," Curlap said. "So we'll go through."

Curlap led the infantry up to the door and pressed a large button he presumed to be the door control. "Care to go first?" the Ultra Unggoy asked the Hunter Deadside.

The Special Ops Mgalekgolo went in, there were a few rounds of needler fire, and then silence. Curlap, Nomnom and the other Grunt infantry went in before the vehicles. The corpses on the floor indicated that Deadside killed a small squad of Brutes and Jackals.

"Check for mines before the vehicles come through," Curlap instructed the infantry.

The sweep didn't take long and soon the vehicles were waved into the warehouse.

"What are human buildings always so dirty?" Yayap wondered aloud.

"Because they don't have Unggoy slaves to do all the cleaning for them," Zakap replied over the COM.

The Separatists didn't get very far before being blocked by another door.

"Nomnom, press the button," Curlap pointed.

"Right." Nomnom pressed the button and the doors slid open to release a swarm of angry Drones. The bugs were everywhere. The Ghosts and Revenant didn't have any room to maneuver. The Needler Wraith's needle cannons were useless, though the turret Mehmep was operating was very effective on the Drones. The building's low ceiling hindered the Drones, putting the flying aliens almost perfectly level with the Wraith's turret. The Drones were severely disorganized and those that weren't killed fled out of the warehouse from where the Separatists first entered it.

When the Separatists resumed their trek through the building they came across a pair of sniper Jackals who attempted to flee when they saw all the vehicles the Grunts brought with them. When the Jackals were dead, Nomnom pressed another button at the end of a long corridor and the doors opened up revealing the outside.

The infantry cleared the out of the way and the Ghosts quickly came through to the outside. Upon immediately exiting the warehouse they saw a new Anti-air Wraith. The Ghosts split up, the Jiralhanae had three Choppers coming right at them. The faster vehicles chased each other around while the Needler Wraith and Revenant went for the Anti-air Wraith. The Grunt infantry stayed back while Deadside and the Hunters fought with the Brute infantry.

The Brute Wraith turned to fire on its attackers, but Zakap filled it full of needles and caused a super explosion.

There was an incredibly loud boom as a Covenant anti-air cannon fired.

"A Type-27 Anti-aircraft Cannon. We will need to destroy that turret," 'Kotoree stated. The cannon was still a ways off, and the Separatists would have to go through another warehouse complex before they reached it.

Then the Covenant heard a new sound, different from the blasts from the anti-air cannon. Multiple thuds starting shaking the ground in a fixed pattern.

"I recognize that sound," Curlap said.

"It's getting closer," Nomnom struggled to maintain his balance.

"Scarab! Everyone act like we're on its side!" Yayap yelled to the Separatists.

"That'll be kind of hard to do," 'Kotoree complained.

"Then you might die, no big loss," Zakap transmitted from the Needler Wraith.

The massive Scarab walker lumbered across the bed lake, firing upon the few Hornets buzzing about in the air. The Scarab completely ignored the Covenant Separatists on the ground and moved on to another location.

"Where it going in such a hurry?" Gagaw asked.

"I don't know," Curlap said.

"It must think we're on its side, it worked," Yayap said.

"It's going after some other poor fool," Zakap predicted.

"As long as it's not our problem," Mehmep said.

"Keep moving," 'Kotoree commanded.

* * *

Inside the primary building of the Traxus factory complex, the fighting was going much differently than outside. The Jiralhanae and their allies were decimating the humans stationed in the facility.

Natarus held a human marine in his grip. The poor individual struggled to free himself, but Natarus was too strong. Natarus then took his free hand and ripped the human's head off. He dropped the body but flung the decapitated head at a construction worker trying to run for his life. The head knocked the human flat on his ass.

"All too easy," Natarus walked over and stomped on the human's right leg to stop him from trying to run again. The human managed to let out of high shriek of agony before Natarus crushed his head with his foot. The Brute Captain Ultra was being particularly violent. Things were not going so well since High Charity had been abandoned to the Flood and the Loyalists followed the Prophet of Truth to the human homeworld. Natarus was taking out his frustrations on the unfortunate humans he encountered.

Natarus' pack of Brute Stalkers was more than a match for the few marines and civilian construction workers they encountered. They were doing so well that not a single Brute even bothered to use his active camouflage. It couldn't be called a fight; even saying it was a slaughter was not accurate. Natarus couldn't think of a way to describe the horrors that the Brutes were inflicting on the humans. Perhaps holy war, though Natarus wasn't all that religious. All Natarus knew was that no one had been turned into a god yet.

Brutus flung a spike grenade right onto the face of a marine. The marine tried to scream before the detonation but the grenade already sliced his mouth to the point where he could no longer properly make screeches of agony. Once the grenade went off a second later the entire upper body of the human was shredded into a pulpy mess of blood, shattered bones, and fractured armor. The legs fell over on the dirty floor, the left foot slightly twitching.

"I will eat you, little shrimp," Boartorus taunted a terrified factory worker.

The smell of human blood was heavy in the stuffy air of the factory, and it made the Jiralhanae hungry.

* * *

The smoldering remains of a Hornet came crashing down right in front of Yayap, forcing him to swerve out of the way. Yayap's new path put him right to the flank of a pair of Choppers that had been dropped into the battle by a Phantom. Yayap aimed for the Brute riders, rather than the Choppers themselves. The riders were only Brute Minors, so their armor wasn't too tough. Yayap killed one but had to swerve in a circle when the other fired back.

Gagaw came in and killed the other Chopper driver while it was busy trying to shoot Yayap.

The Separatist infantry, particularly the Unggoy, were struggling to keep up with the vehicles.

"Enough of this walking, I'll take that," Curlap took one of the Choppers.

'Kotoree's Revenant was leading the other Ghosts towards the third Anti-air Wraith. The Wraith turned to meet its attackers, there weren't many aircraft left for it to shoot down anyway.

"You will die," the Brute manning the Wraith's secondary turret told the told Elites riding the Revenant.

"You're no match for an Elite, vermin!" Snee 'Balatee yelled back.

The Revenant and Ghosts circled the Wraith drawing its attention away from the approaching Needler Wraith. Zakap unleashed the needler cannons and a super-combine explosion decimated the Anti-air Wraith.

There were still two enemy Choppers driving about the area, the Ghosts chasing after them. Nomnom and the other Grunt infantry had time to take and break from fighting, or so they thought.

Nomnom and the Separatist Unggoy walked straight into the path of a Loyalist squad that emerged from the hollow shell of a large sewage pipe. A Jackal Minor was leading a Grunt Major and three Grunt Minors.

Nomnom was quick on the draw, quicker than the Jackal was. The Jackal fell to the ground dead. None of the Unggoy fired upon each other.

"Hello," Nomnom greeted the other Grunts.

"Hello," the Grunt Major replied.

"Follow me," Nomnom said.

"Okay," the Major replied.

The Grunt infantry continued onward with their four new allies.

* * *

Natarus approached the Brute Chieftain that had summoned him. They were still in the factory complex fighting with the humans. The fighting was so close that the two Brutes could actually observe the combat. Natarus' pack was fighting, but being the leader, Natarus had to first meet to see what the Chieftain wanted from him.

"We will tear you into bloody red ribbons!" Natarus heard Moartorus roar at the humans, soon followed by the sound of a spike grenade going off. The Brute Captain Ultra drowned out the joyful sounds of combat to listen to his orders from the Chieftain.

"My lance leaders have reported two separate teams approaching the Mantis Cannon. I will take my pack to block the way of the humans. You will take your and kill the Sangheili-led Separatists."

"The cowardly Sangheili will die," Natarus promised. "We will move out at once."

* * *

After Zakap destroyed the fourth Anti-air Wraith with his Needler Wraith, the Separatists once again made for the direction of the anti-air cannon, though they realized that the booming sounds of anti-air fire had stopped. Yayap and the others stopped and looked up towards the sky as numerous Longsword fighters and human frigates lurched into the area. It was clear that one of the other teams had eliminated the anti-air cannon first.

The human frigates fired upon the Truth's Forerunner Dreadnought. Despite being engulfed in massive explosions, the Dreadnought was unharmed. Forerunner structures the Loyalists had dug up began to move and the Dreadnought was lowered into the unearthed Forerunner structure. Suddenly a beam of light emanated upwards, growing thicker until it went out of shockwave.

The aftermath of the shockwave left an enormous glowing sphere in the sky. The human and Loyalist ships were lazily drifting through the air, no longer fighting one another.

"What is that?" Yayap wondered.

"I don't know," Curlap answered.

The Forerunner Dreadnought rose up into the sphere, followed by the Loyalist fleet. They disappeared, as if the sphere were some kind of portal.

"That's right, run you cowards!" Gagaw yelled up at the fleeing ships.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter has the same name as the fifth mission of Halo 3.


	12. Floodgate

**Chapter 12: Floodgate**

A damaged Covenant cruiser appeared from out of slipspace, huge plumes of smoke and dirty fumes escaping from the vessel. The dying ship thundered past the Covenant Separatists before crashing to the ground in a loud thud that shook that ground. The smog from the damaged ship started to darken the sky, a foreboding omen of what was to come.

"I wonder whose side that ship on?" Nomnom wheezed through his mask.

"I have an idea," Zakap said.

"Oh no." Curlap shook his head. "Not them again."

"The Parasite," Mehmep said with a tone of dread.

"Not again." Gagaw stomped on the ground. "Stupid Flood don't know when to give up. When they ever going to learn they no win?"

"Because they're stupid. Like you said," Curlap answered. "But we need to go, now. Call in a pickup," the Unggoy Ultra told 'Kotoree. Mntis 'Kotoree glared at the Unggoy Ultra for presuming he could order him around, but still called in a ride to pick them up.

* * *

The sky continued to turn blacker as the Covenant Separatists waited for their ride out. The Unggoy fidgeted and paced around nervously while the Mgalekgolo stood watch for any enemies that might attack.

"The waiting is killing me," Mehmep complained.

"Be watchful or it will be the Parasite that kills you," 'Balatee warned.

"Bah," Zakap grunted. "If they were coming for us they would have gotten here by now. The Flood is too busy munching on humans."

The thought of humans being devoured by Flood caused 'Kotoree to laugh. The Elite caught himself and tried to extinguish the chuckle but it was too late. There was something that the Unggoy and Sangheili had in common. The idea of humans being devoured was certainly a humorous notion.

What looked like Flood spores started coming down from the diseased clouds that blotted out the sun. Yayap noticed that the Elites were breathing lighter. It was obvious they didn't want to consume any of the airborne spores. The Unggoy had no such worries. While constantly being confined to wearing a mask could be tiresome, it proved to be a definite advantage when dealing with the Flood.

Only a single Phantom approached. To Yayap it appeared to be a violet angel against a sky of dirty grey.

"What's the meaning of this," Curlap demanded, "there isn't enough room for all of us on a single Phantom."

"That's all they sent. You'll be fine, your masks will protect you," 'Kotoree hissed, his four mandibles forming the equivalent of a Sangheili smile.

"It's not Flood spores that I'm concerned about," Curlap darkly replied. The Unggoy Ultra looked like he was about to chuck a grenade against the Elite. It was behavior Yayap would have expected from Zakap. Zakap and 'Kotoree were always butting heads. Curlap usually had a cooler head. The constant combat must have been getting to Ultra Grunt.

"It's fine." Yayap put his hand on Curlap's shoulder. "Let him run. This will not be the end of us."

A large portion of the group was able to get out on the Phantom. Yayap, Curlap, Zakap, Mehmep, Gagaw, Nomnom, and Deadside were the only ones left stranded on Earth.

"Come on, we better get moving. See if we can't help the humans," Yayap said.

"I'm pretty sure we can't." Mehmep kicked a small rock.

"Why bother to help them?" Zakap asked.

"I wouldn't think you would run from a fight."

"I wouldn't think you were in such a hurry to help humans," Zakap hissed. "Maybe you spent too much time with that human woman."

"Keyes is not so bad," Yayap said. "Who knows? The humans may end up being our permanent allies against the San 'Shyuum."

"Fine," Zakap gave up on the argument. "Let's go and save the scared humans."

The small group of Grunts and their one Hunter set out back towards the Traxus facility.

Yayap started to feel his heart beat loudly in his chest. He almost regretted not staying put but he had faced the Flood on so many different occasions now. It didn't seem like he would die now. Of course, Yayap was just one unlucky move from death at any given time.

It did not take long for the small group of Covenant Separatists to find action. Before they had even entered the buildings, they discovered a squad of humans fighting against the Flood.

Their opponents almost exclusively consisted of infection forms. The human marines were holding their own and when the Grunts and Hunter started to help, the Flood was outright losing. The only problem was that the infection forms never stopped coming. There was a constant and steady stream of the balloon-shaped enemies. There was an ever droning popping noise as human and Covenant weapons impacted on the frail Flood forms.

The fighting had gone on for nearly a minute before the stream of infection forms finally ran dry. The humans and Covenant soldiers stared at each other awkwardly for a moment.

"Thanks for the assist," one of the humans spoke to the Grunts.

"No problem," Yayap said. Even through the foggy smog-filled air it was crystal clear that there were still humans who were extremely uneasy about working with the Covenant Separatists. But at least they didn't attack, and that was good enough for Yayap and his allies.

Before anyone could utter another word the area was beset by infection forms once again. Only this time there were many more than before. They came out of the Traxus buildings, and being closer, the marines were attacked first.

The Grunts saw as a marine was turned into a Flood combat form before their eyes. It was incredible and horrifying at the same time. The transformation took mere seconds. Suddenly the Flood had a more durable and armed combatant on their side at the expense of the humans. It was no wonder the Flood was able to wreak such devastating and immediate havoc wherever they went. They were so quick in forcibly turning enemies to their side.

"This was such a bad idea." Curlap tossed a plasma grenade at the combat form. The grenade missed its mark, but the cyan explosion still did splash damage to the Flood combat form and sent it falling face forward.

"That's how I know we'll stay alive," Zakap told Curlap in between plasma blasts, "this whole damn war we've been full of bad ideas. I guarantee the first brilliant idea we have will get us all killed."

Deadside charged in and trampled most of the newly created combat forms. The Grunts handled the clean up.

"See, it wasn't that bad," Gagaw said. The Separatists could hear the sound of gunfire coming from inside the complex. Most of the sounds belonged to Covenant weaponry.

"Come on, let's go," Zakap urged the group onwards.

Before the Grunts could even get anywhere a pair of combat forms that used to be Brutes burst through a window to attack. Spiker rounds flew towards the Unggoy. Those that had active camouflage used it while those that didn't ran and hid behind Deadside. Yayap could have sworn he heard the Flood combat forms talking. He was so sure they were saying something to the Grunts, but couldn't make out what it was. It didn't matter, as Deadside was quick to shut the Flood up.

The Separatists continued onward towards the sounds of the gunfight they had heard before and their curiosity was quickly rewarded. A pack of Brutes was fending off a crowd of Flood tanks. Flood tanks relied on melee attacks and could soak up a lot of punishment, which explained why the Jiralhanae were having such a prolonged fight with them. The Unggoy immediately started to help out. Even in the fighting, Yayap recognized that it was Natarus on his pack. Yayap wished that had run into a lance of Unggoy. The last time they had seen Natarus things weren't going so well. But the Brute seemed unusually reasonable for his kind, so he may be able to be reasoned with.

Soon the Flood were all dead, whether death even meant anything to the Flood was anyone's guess. Infection forms had a habit of bringing Flood corpses (or any corpses) to life and any victory against them was sort lived unless the bodies were burned or destroyed.

The Jiralhanae and Unggoy raised their weapons at each other, though neither side fired. The Grunts knew they would lose the fight and the Brutes did not want to face the wrath of the Hunter. Natarus and his Brutes had long forgotten their original assignment once they were forced to struggle to survive against the Flood. Coming so far, they did not want to risk it all by taking on a Special Ops Hunter. Still, even if both sides were reluctant, something bad was going to happen if someone didn't speak up and try to make peace.

"Natarus, wait. We don't have to fight anymore. We have spoken to the Oracle and it has revealed the truth to us," Yayap tried to keep both sides from shooting at each other.

"Speak, Yayap," Natarus said. The Captain Ultra gave a hand gesture and his pack of Brute Stalkers lowered their weapons.

"We have spoken with the Oracle. The Prophets have betrayed us. The Great Journey is a lie. The Sacred Rings did not transform the Forerunner into gods; it destroyed them to deprive the Flood of food. Everything about our religion is a misunderstanding. The whole setup of Sacred Rings was just to stop the Flood from spreading any further across the galaxy."

"You spoke with the Oracle?" Natarus was intrigued.

"Yes. It reveals the truth to those who have the humility to actually listen to what it says."

"I believe you." Natarus crossed his arms.

"What?" Boartorus was taken aback.

"Conversing with the Oracle is a great claim. But you fight with bravery. You fight like us, despite your weaknesses. You are a shining example for all Unggoy to follow. I believe that you are speaking the truth."

"But they're just a bunch of Grunts," Moartorus protested.

"Enough," Natarus snapped, "Why would they lie about that? Why would they come to our aide? I believe they speak the truth. I have made my decision and you will respect it. Come, let us all leave. This area is sure to be either glassed or flooded soon." Natarus was never particularly devout and needed little convincing that the Covenant religion could be abandoned. To Natarus, the Covenant Civil War was more about settling the rivalry between the Jiralhanae and the Sangheili. If the whole Covenant religion was a lie Natarus wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

The Loyalists and Separatists continued on together. The dull, slate-gray floor was covered in blood of various colors and burned with fire from a several different kinds of weapons but there were no corpses. Anyone who had recently died was now up and about looking to create more mobile corpses thanks to the unflagging efforts of the parasitic Flood infection forms.

"Have your Elite comrades fallen in battle?" Natarus asked Yayap.

"No. They have fled from the Flood."

"Ha!" Natarus gave a hearty chuckle. "They are more cowardly than even I would have guessed."

"You are quick to work with us again," Yayap spoke.

"We share a common enemy. I have issue with the Sangheili, not with the Unggoy or the Mgalekgolo."

"Indeed. If things get any worse, we may all be fighting together against the Flood."

"Perhaps," Natarus agreed.

The Flood had been notably absent for a long time as the Covenant scoured the Traxus facility. The most they came across were a few infection and carrier forms that they killed with ease.

When they finally went back outside they realized why the Flood had been absent before. The Parasite was busy fighting outside. The Separatist cruisers in the sky had pepper the area with drop pods, a rather stupid move considering they were starting to glass the area. Perhaps they were apart of a specific strike team sent in to accomplish a specific task, but none of the Grunts or the Brutes could guess what their goal could possibly be. It wouldn't matter what their assignment was as the Elites were being torn to shreds by the Flood.

There was also a small squad of Grunt Rangers that were faring much better. Grunt Rangers wore silver-blue armor but could easily be recognized by the fact that they had jump packs and were constantly bolting up into the air to avoid being slashed apart by the Parasite. Occasionally the acrobatic Flood would leap up after the Rangers, but their aim was always bad and they never managed to swat any of the Unggoy out of the sky.

Natarus and his Brutes engaged the Flood, specifically Flood that were not near the faltering Elites. It seemed the Brutes were content to let their rivals die. The Grunts and their one Hunter ally went to assist the Grunt Rangers against their foes.

"You giant, bulling, monster!" Nomnom taunted a Flood tank that was lumbering their way. The Unggoy combined fire to bring their slow but durable enemy down. Deadside focused on the more dangerous combat forms.

The Unggoy were all doing miraculously against the Flood. It was a particularly spectacular sight considering the same Flood they were killing had eviscerated a large group of Sangheili only moments before.

"What, is this game on legendary?" Nomnom asked.

"Yeah, in our favor!" Zakap answered.

"Here's some candy!" Gagaw stuck a Flood Stalker with a plasma grenade.

Yayap turned and saw that the Brutes had not moved away from the Elites because they were content to let them die, but because they were heading towards a pickup location. A Phantom had dropped down when the area was clear of Flood and the Brutes started piling in. The Brutes were willing to work with the Grunts against the Flood for a time, but it was clear that was the current extent of their cooperation. Natarus and his pack weren't wasting any time and left the Unggoy behind.

"Look at them run. They're just as cowardly as the Elites," Zakap balked.

"We should really be getting out of here ourselves. If the Flood don't eat us we're gonna get glassed," Curlap muttered.

Two more Phantoms were spotted in the polluted air but these were heading straight for the Unggoy. No one in Yayap's group had summoned them and it was unlikely they would have come at the request of the Grunt Rangers. A likely scenario was that the Elites had called in for extraction almost as soon as they had touched down in their drop pods. But now the Elites had all been killed. The two Phantoms kept coming in anyway, their pilots determined not to return empty-handed.

"Run away!" Yayap heard one of the Grunt Rangers call out for a general retreat.

The Unggoy wasted in time in loading up onto the pair of Phantoms as they dropped down. The pickup was fast and the purple dropships were quickly back in the air and heading towards the cruisers. As soon as the Grunts were on the ships and out of reach the Flood in the area immediately broke away from the area without a second thought in search of other prey.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter has the same name as the sixth mission of Halo 3.

The Elites being torn to shreds by the Flood is a reference that the Elites that came down to fight the Flood in the sixth mission of Halo 3 would constantly be devastated on all but the lowest difficulty settings.


End file.
